Rome
CNN
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Specialist divers examining the wreckage of the $40 million superyacht that sank off Sicily in August, killing eight people including British tech mogul Mike Lynch, have called for increased security to protect the vessel over concerns that sensitive data locked in its vaults could be of interest to foreign governments, multiple sources tell CNN.
Italian prosecutors who have opened a criminal investigation into multiple counts of manslaughter and negligent sinking believe the 56-metre (184-foot) yacht, the Bayesian, may contain highly sensitive data linked to a number of Western intelligence services, four sources familiar with the investigation and the salvage operation said.
Lynch was associated with British, American and other intelligence services through his various companies, including the cybersecurity firm he founded, Darktrace.
That company was sold in April to Chicago-based private equity firm Thoma Bravo. Lynch, whose wife’s company, Revtom Limited, owned the ship, also served as an adviser to British prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa May on science, technology and cybersecurity during their terms, according to British government documents and Darktrace’s public records.
The sunken ship, which is resting on the seabed at a depth of about 50 meters (164 feet), is believed to have watertight safes containing two super-encrypted hard drives that hold highly classified information, including access codes and other sensitive data, an official involved in the salvage plans, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told CNN. Specialized divers equipped with remote cameras have been searching the boat extensively.
Local law enforcement initially feared that potential thieves would try to reach the wreck to find jewelry and other valuables still aboard the yacht, according to fire department divers interviewed by CNN. Now they fear that the wreck, which is expected to be raised in the coming weeks as part of the criminal investigation into the tragedy, is also of interest to foreign governments, including Russia and China. They have called for the yacht to be closely monitored, both above and below the water.
“A formal request has been accepted and implemented for additional security of the wreck until it can be raised,” Francesco Venuto of the Sicilian Civil Protection Agency confirmed to CNN.
Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, American lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda, British banker Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy, and the yacht’s chef Recaldo Thomas died when the ship sank in a violent storm in the early hours of the morning.
Preliminary autopsy results suggest that Bloomer and Morvillo died of asphyxiation or “dry drowning” when the oxygen in an air bubble in a sleeping pod ran out. Autopsy results for Lynch and her daughter are less clear.
The chief, whose body was found outside the boat, died of drowning, the coroner said. Toxicology reports on the victims have not yet been released, but none had suffered physical injuries when the boat sank.
Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, and 14 others survived, including Captain James Cutfield, who, along with a deckhand and the yacht’s engine room manager, is being investigated for multiple manslaughter and negligent sinking. They were all allowed to leave Italy.
Some of the 15 survivors, including nine crew members and six passengers, including a 1-year-old girl, reportedly told prosecutors that Lynch “didn’t trust cloud services” and always kept data hard drives in a secure compartment on the yacht wherever he sailed, a source in the prosecutor’s office told CNN. None of the crew or passengers who survived the incident were tested for drugs or alcohol because they were in “shock,” authorities said at a news conference after the bodies were recovered.
Morvillo represented Lynch when he was acquitted last June in the United States in a criminal fraud case related to Hewlett Packard’s acquisition of his software company Autonomy. According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Raffaele Cammarano, survivors told investigators the cruise was a celebration of that acquittal. Although Lynch was acquitted of any criminal wrongdoing in the United States, Hewlett Packard has indicated it will not abandon its bid to collect a $4 billion civil settlement from Lynch’s estate, awarded by a British court in 2022.
In what appears to be a tragic coincidence, Stephen Chamberlain, Lynch’s associate who was his co-defendant in the US fraud case and former COO of Darktrace, died on August 19, the same day the Bayesian sank, after being hit by a car while jogging two days earlier. A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office told CNN that Cutfield told them that Lynch had learned of Chamberlain’s serious condition and planned to cut the cruise short to return to the UK to see his associate, who was on life support.
The Bayesian sank hours before Chamberlain died in hospital, his attorney said. Lynch was unaware of his partner’s death, and Chamberlain was in a coma and therefore unaware of the sinking, Chamberlain’s attorney said.
Local prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio said no personal belongings, including Lynch’s computers, jewelry or hard drives, were recovered from the ship. However, the ship’s hard drives and surveillance cameras, linked to the navigation system, have been handed over to investigators to determine if there is any usable data that could indicate how the yacht sank within 16 minutes of the storm. The ship was not equipped with a traditional black box or voyage data recorder to record navigation data or audio on the bridge.
Once divers finish surveying the wreck this week, they will propose solutions to refloat the 473-ton vessel without spilling the 18,000 liters of oil and fuel still on board, and to ensure that sensitive data does not fall into the wrong hands. The cost of refloating the ship will be borne by its owner, Lynch’s widow, as required by Italian maritime law.
