An art piece dubbed 'Persistence of Chaos', consisting of a netbook packed with six pieces of malware has fetched a closing bid of 1.345 million dollars. Photo: Persistenceofchaos.com
San Jose, Calif. (KTVU): - A Samsung netbook loaded with six pieces of malware has sold as a piece of art, and has received a final closing bid of $1.435 million at an online auction.
The art piece, dubbed "The Persistence of Chaos," was created by artist Guo O Dong in collaboration with cybersecurity company Deep Instinct, which provided the malware and technical expertise to execute the work in a safe environment.
Together, they’ve packed an airgapped 10-inch Samsung NC10-14GB netbook running Windows XP with six different types of malware that have caused financial damages totaling $95B. Air gapping is a network security measure used to cut off a computer’s access to networks.
The malware collection includes a virus named ILOVEYOU, an internet worm named MyDoom, a worm and a trojan called SoBig, ransomware named WannaCry, a credential stealer called DarkTequila, and a malware known as BlackEnergy. Four of these malware have singlehandedly caused damages in the billions of dollars.
A website livestreaming a video feed of the laptop is currently live. The intention behind the laptop was to make physical the abstract threats posed by the digital world, Dong said, speaking to The Verge. It’s unclear who the buyer is, and whether he/she intends to pony up the $1.345 million amount.