• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Ed Sheeran asked Patriots owner Robert Kraft for $2 million aid donation after Macklemore was dropped from his tour for pro-Palestine comments

2

Meet Warren Buffett's son Howard, a former sheriff, war photographer, and now, Berkshire's new chairman

3

Anthropic billionaire cofounder Jack Clark studied literature, not code—and says liberal arts degrees will win in the AI age

1

Ed Sheeran asked Patriots owner Robert Kraft for $2 million aid donation after Macklemore was dropped from his tour for pro-Palestine comments

2

Meet Warren Buffett's son Howard, a former sheriff, war photographer, and now, Berkshire's new chairman

3

Anthropic billionaire cofounder Jack Clark studied literature, not code—and says liberal arts degrees will win in the AI age
TechItaly

Lost jewels and top-secret data potentially sit in the sunken wreck of a $40 million superyacht

By
Chloe Berger
Chloe Berger
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Chloe Berger
Chloe Berger
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 24, 2024, 4:00 AM ET
Divers at the wreck of the Bayesian sank yacht.
Divers at the wreck of the Bayesian sank yacht.ALBERTO PIZZOLI / Contributor—Getty Images
Google source logo
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

This past August, the late British tech millionaire Mike Lynch’s yacht sank during a storm as he celebrated his acquittal from a years-long fraud trial.

Recommended Video

Gathering close family and friends, Lynch found his plans thrown asunder as he along with six others died. 

At first, Italian authorities thought the 184-foot yacht named the Bayesian would attract potential thieves due to its typical loot—high-end jewelry and other precious items—divers told CNN. But it might also harbor some top-secret data.

Through remotely operated cameras, divers have found watertight safes that they think could hold two super-encrypted hard drives, sources familiar with the probe told CNN. These drives potentially contain passcodes, sensitive data, and other highly classified information.

Divers called for greater security surrounding the wreck as this find could attract interested parties from Russia and China, CNN added. 

Survivors of the crash reportedly told prosecutors that Lynch “did not trust cloud services,” and instead made a regular habit of keeping drives of data in his yacht when he set to the water, a source explained to CNN. Authorities for Termini Imerese, whose prosecutors are leading a manslaughter probe, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

According to CNN, Lynch had ties to Western intelligence agencies through some of his companies, including Darktrace. Lynch was the founding investor of the cybersecurity company that uses AI to protect organizations against potential attacks, and he held a combined 3% stake alongside his wife, Angela Bacarez. Darktrace declined to comment on the hard drives, but told Fortune that Lynch didn’t have any operational involvement with the group since stepping down from the board in 2018.

“Darktrace was founded in 2013 by a group of mathematicians, businesspeople and cybersecurity experts, and we hire from a wide range of backgrounds, including mathematicians, engineers, former civil servants and people from the intelligence services,” a Darktrace spokesperson told Fortune. “It is commonplace for people in the cybersecurity industry to move between the private and public sectors, all in support of a mission to protect organizations from cyber attacks.”

Bacares was also well-connected after advising previous British prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa May on matters of science, technology, and cybersecurity, according to CNN’s report.

Darktrace has gone through some changes as well recently, as the company is being bought by Thoma Bravo for $5.3 billion. This month, Darktrace cofounder and CEO Poppy Gustafsson stepped down to be replaced by the company’s COO, Jill Popelka. 

While Lynch has been cleared of fraud charges in the U.S., Hewlett-Packard announced this month that it will continue to pursue his family for $4 billion in a civil case in the U.K. 

About the Author
By Chloe Berger
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Google source logo
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech


Most Popular

Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

    Latest in Tech


    Most Popular

    © 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
    FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.