A laptop containing six pieces of malware has sold for $1.3 million at an auction. The virus-filled laptop was part of an art piece titled the "The Persistence of Chaos" and was commissioned by cybersecurity company Deep Instinct. Guo O Dong created the work of art using a $499 10.2-inch Samsung NC10-14GB laptop from 2008 running Windows XP SP3. He installed six pieces of malware that have caused nearly $100 billion in damages by infecting computer systems all over the world.
The malware includes ILOVEYOU, MyDoom, SoBig, WannaCry, DarkTequila, and BlackEnergy, but the laptop has been "air-gapped" to prevent the malicious programs from spreading. If the person who bought the computer decides to connect it to the internet, the malware could spread, but the programs are outdated and it is possible to stop them from causing damage if they got released into the wild.
Guo spoke with The Verge about his work of art and said that he wanted to showcase the real-world impact of computer viruses.
"We have this fantasy that things that happen in computers can't actually affect us, but this is absurd," Guo. "Weaponized viruses that affect power grids or public infrastructure can cause direct harm."
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