THE National Science and Media Museum will be giving a first look inside a new major exhibition that will uncover the fascinating world of codebreaking, cyber security and secret communications.

Top Secret: From ciphers to cyber security has been created alongside expert advisors from the UK’s intelligence, security and cyber agency, GCHQ, and will open to the public from Friday, 11 February.

Running until Sunday, 5 June, it follows its successful run at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester and the Science Museum in London.

Visitors can discover more than a century of codebreaking history through objects, interactive puzzles and first-person interviews.

From the First World War to the latest in cyber security, fascinating stories will be revealed via hand-written documents, declassified files and artefacts from the historic collections of the Science Museum Group and GCHQ.

Exhibition Curator, Toni Booth, said: “Our museum tells the stories of the science and culture of sound and vision technologies and their impact on our lives, so we are incredibly excited to be welcoming Top Secret to Bradford.

“The exhibition will showcase how advancements in image and film have impacted domestic spyware throughout the Cold War era, and ultimately influenced modern technologies that have transformed how we communicate today.”

Minister of State for Media, Data, and Digital Infrastructure, Julia Lopez, said: “This fantastic exhibition gives a fascinating insight into how the UK’s world-leading intelligence and cyber security experts have defended the country from criminals and hostile states since the First World War.

"We have supported this exhibition so people from Bradford and across the UK can enjoy it for free and I hope it inspires the next generation of budding cyber professionals to consider a career in this exciting field."

GCHQ’s modern-day mission is to tackle the most serious cyber, terrorist and criminal threats. Top Secret originally opened at the Science Museum in London to coincide with GCHQ’s centenary in 2019, and moved to the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester in summer 2021. The exhibition’s stay in Manchester was timely, as GCHQ opened an office in the north-west in 2019.

The government plans to further establish a ‘cyber corridor’ in the north to promote growth in the digital, defence and technology sectors, making the launch of Top Secret in Bradford particularly important.

Top Secret is free to attend, but booking is essential. Visitors will also need to book a general admission ticket.

Free tickets are available to book online via the National Science and Media Museum website.