The auction of a laptop running 6 of the most dangerous malwares in history came to an end yesterday at $1.345 million. The sale was made through the website thepersistenceofchaos.com. The 2008 Samsung NC10 is not just a corrupted piece of technology but an art piece called The Persistence of Chaos. The artist Guo O Dong worked with the american cybersecurity company Deep Instinct to infect the computer “in a safe environment.” The isolated art piece is safe as long as nothing is plugged in and it is not connected to any network.
The 6 pieces of malware were put into the laptop on purpose. WannaCry, BlackEnergy, ILOVEYOU, SoBig, MyDoom and DarkTequila would have caused $95B in damages total. The Persistence of Chaos gives a physical form to the abstract dangers of the digital world. The buyer’s identity is not yet known but a live stream of the laptop is still available on the official website of The Persistence of Chaos.
