Sensitive data found on Mike Lynch’s sunken yacht raises international security concerns.
The $40 million luxury yacht owned by British tech billionaire Mike Lynch sank off the coast of Sicily in August, killing seven passengers and raising serious security concerns.
The Bayesian yacht is now the focus of an investigation. Experts worry that highly sensitive data on board could attract foreign attention.
According to CNN, professional divers who examine wrecks call for more protection. Countries like China and Russia could be particularly interested in encrypted data stored in two secure vaults on the yacht. The wreck is 50 meters (164 feet) deep, and the data contains security passwords and other sensitive information.
Authorities have confirmed that Lynch’s yacht is closely tied to U.S., British, and other Western intelligence agencies and could contain material that could pose a serious threat to global security.
Lynch invested in companies such as the cybersecurity firm Darktrace, which was acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo earlier this year. This made him a key figure in the technology and security fields.
The Bayesian sank during a severe storm. Italian prosecutors subsequently opened a criminal investigation, charging several people with manslaughter and negligent wrecking. Mike Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, and five others died in the tragedy.
Other victims included American lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Nada, British banker Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy, and the yacht’s chef Riccardo Thomas.
According to preliminary autopsy reports, Bloomer and Morvillo likely died from “dry drowning” due to lack of oxygen in the cabin air pockets. The autopsy reports for Lynch and her daughter remain unclear, while the chef’s death was ruled a drowning.
Lynch’s wife, Angela Bakaris, and 14 others, including the yacht’s captain, James Cutfield, survived the accident. Survivors revealed that Lynch did not trust cloud storage systems and kept sensitive data in secure compartments on the aircraft.
The yacht’s encrypted drives could contain data relevant to Western intelligence operations.
Italian authorities are investigating Captain Carterfield, a deckhand and the yacht’s engine room manager, for negligence causing the vessel’s sinking and multiple counts of manslaughter.
Strict security measures have officially been implemented around the wreck, with officials ensuring safety until the vessel is raised from the seafloor.
