Mike Lynch's sunken superyacht may hold sensitive intelligence data
The wreckage of a $40 million superyacht, which sank off Sicily in August, is believed to contain watertight safes with highly sensitive data. The vessel, owned by British tech tycoon Mike Lynch's wife's company Revtom Limited, went down during a violent storm, claiming seven lives including Lynch's. Specialist divers surveying the wreckage have now requested increased security measures, due to concerns over potential interest from foreign governments in the data locked within its safes.
Italian prosecutors suspect sensitive data onboard
Italian prosecutors have initiated a criminal investigation into multiple charges of manslaughter and negligent shipwreck. They suspect that the 56-meter yacht, named the Bayesian, may hold highly sensitive data linked to various Western intelligence services. This suspicion arises from Lynch's associations with British, American, and other intelligence services through his companies, including Darktrace—a cybersecurity firm he founded.
Superyacht's safes believed to contain classified information
The sunken superyacht is thought to have watertight safes containing two super-encrypted hard drives with highly classified information, including passcodes and other sensitive data. Initially, local law enforcement was concerned about potential thieves attempting to reach the wreckage for valuable items still onboard. However, their focus has now shifted toward ensuring that this sensitive data does not fall into the hands of foreign governments like Russia or China.
Additional security measures implemented
An official with the Sicilian civil protection authority confirmed that a formal request for additional security of the wreckage has been accepted and implemented. This decision comes as part of preparations to raise the wreckage in the coming weeks for a criminal investigation into the tragedy. The yacht is now being closely guarded, both above water and with underwater surveillance, to prevent any unauthorized access to its potential contents.
Details of the tragic yacht sinking emerge
The Bayesian sank in a violent storm, claiming the lives of seven people including Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, US attorney Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda, UK banker Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy, and onboard chef Recaldo Thomas. Preliminary autopsy results suggest that the Bloomer and Morvillo couples died of suffocation or "dry drowning" when oxygen in an air bubble in a sleeping cabin depleted. The cause of death for Lynch and his daughter remains unclear.
Survivors' statements and ongoing investigations
Some of the 15 survivors, including nine crew members and six passengers, told prosecutors that Lynch "did not trust cloud services" and always kept data drives in a secure compartment of the yacht. The cruise was a celebration of Lynch's acquittal in a US criminal fraud case tied to Hewlett Packard's takeover of his software company Autonomy. Despite his acquittal, HP has indicated it will not drop its bid to collect a $4 billion civil payout from Lynch's estate.
