Sunken Superyacht Security Suspicions

I am sure that Internet surfers will recall the sinking of the $40,000,000 super-yacht Bayesian off the coast of Sicily last month – a sudden squall arose, and the brand new 184-foot boat quickly went down. Seven died, including billionaire Brit Mike Lynch.

Boats at nearby anchorages weathered the storm fine. Multiple theories were aired – an incredibly heavy localized downpour (no doubt due to human-caused climate change, right?), defective design, open water hatches and covers, the height of the mast (at over 220 feet, incredibly tall – most masts are 150 feet or lower on a boat this size), crew malfeasance, maybe even UFO action for all I know.  Speculation abounds, and with the wreck in over 150 feet of water, answers may take a while.

But there is another concern now. There is speculation that thieves could steal jewelry or valuable – now there could be a larger concern.

Italian Prosecutors who have opened up a criminal probe into multiple charges of manslaughter and negligent shipwreck think the 56-meter (184-foot) yacht, the , may contain highly sensitive data tied to a number of Western intelligence services, four sources familiar with the investigation and salvage operation said.

Lynch was associated with British, American and other intelligence services through his various companies, including the cyber security company he founded, Darktrace.

That company was sold to Chicago-based private equity firm Thoma Bravo in April. Lynch, whose wife’s company Revtom Limited owned the vessel, was also an adviser to British prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa May on science, technology and cyber security during their tenures, according to British government and public Darktrace records.

The sunken vessel, lying on the seabed at a depth of some 50 meters (164 feet), is thought to have watertight safes containing two super-encrypted hard drives that hold highly classified information, including passcodes and other sensitive data, an official involved in the salvage plans, who asked not to be named, told CNN.

Aside – you ever wish that some of these “not authorized to talk but release sensitive info anyway” folks would maybe have fatal accidents in traffic? Just a question, I would NEVER advocate such a thing. Publicly.

Now they are concerned that the wreckage, expected to be raised in the coming weeks as part of the criminal investigation into the tragedy, will also be of interest to foreign governments, including Russia and China. They have requested that the yacht be guarded closely, both above water and with underwater surveillance.

Some of the 15 survivors, of whom nine were crew members and six were passengers, including a 1-year-old girl, reportedly told prosecutors that Lynch “did not trust cloud services” and always kept data drives in a secure compartment of the yacht wherever he sailed, a source with the prosecutor’s office told CNN.

After divers complete surveys of the wreck this week, they will make suggestions for how to best raise the 473-ton vessel without spilling any of the 18,000 liters of oil and fuel still onboard, and how to make sure any sensitive data does not fall into the wrong hands. The costs of raising the ship will fall to its owner, Lynch’s widow, as is mandated by Italian maritime law.   CNN

I know the classic definition of a boat is “a hole in the water you throw money at.” Given the probable salvage costs, and that Lynch’s widow is also being sued for $24,000,000 by Hewlett Packard over a business deal Lynch did, I am guessing this may wind up one of the most expensive yachts in history.

Category: Dick Stepping, None