• smeg@feddit.uk
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    18
    ·
    17 days ago

    If she worked at Bletchley or somewhere similarly top secret during the war then she probably wouldn’t have talked about it because it was classified for decades

    • UnspecificGravity@piefed.social
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      16 days ago

      Was it classified because cracking the Enigma machine was still a matter of national security by the 1950s or because the UK didn’t want to talk about the people that cracked it?

      • ohulancutash@feddit.uk
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        16 days ago

        Enigma was widely used, not just by Germany during the war, and was still current in the 50s. Additionally, the methods used to defeat Enigma had value against other encryption. It is also the policy of British intelligence not to publicise their work or capabilities.

        British intelligence workers also took the Official Secrets Act at its word, while their American counterparts eventually assumed that as it was in the past they could talk about it.