A recent yacht disaster in Italy has become a global intelligence issue.
Catch up: A superyacht sank in a violent storm off the coast of Sicily in August. Seven people, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer, were killed in the incident. Fifteen people survived; the ship's captain and other staff are under investigation for manslaughter and negligence.
At issue: CNN reported there is concern that watertight safes aboard the ship may have contained highly sensitive data tied to Western and NATO intelligence services on encrypted hard drives. Lynch's businesses worked with U.S., British and other governmental intelligence services; he also served as an adviser to several United Kingdom prime ministers.
Big picture: The concern that would-be thieves would attempt to plunder the wreckage for valuables has now shifted to fears China and Russia, among other nations, may try to capitalize. Specialist dive teams are searching for the safes and have asked for heightened security and surveillance of the scene above and below water.
