The BI article also states the viruses have been used in creating $95 billion in financial damages. The computer has been altered in order to be sold, so the viruses cant be used and the ports have been disabled so they cant be downloaded to a USB drive. It was sold on a website, so confirmation and documentation of the sale has not been verified.
Interesting that it mentions the computer is being sold not as computer hardware and software, but as art, with an installation name of The Persistence of Chaos".
Business Insider reports
Source: Business Insider
- A laptop that's utterly infested with six of the worst computer viruses and malware known to man was sold at auction for $1.345 million on Monday.
- The types of viruses on the laptop are said to have caused $95 billion in financial damages worldwide.
- The laptop has had its internet connectivity and ports disabled, which hopefully means the malware within has no way to spread...hopefully.
A 2008 Samsung NC10 laptop running Windows XP just sold at auction for a whopping $1.345 million.
Although the 11-year-old machine may have nostalgic value to some, what makes this one so special (and expensive) is that it comes with live specimens of six of the most dangerous computer viruses in existence.
In a livestream on Twitch, the laptop can be seen turned on and running the viruses and malware. But the laptop wasn't sold as a cyber weapon on a darkweb black market. It was sold as art.
The virus-infected laptop is an art installation called "The Persistence of Chaos" by artist Guo O Dong.
persistence of chaos malware laptop
Twitch/Persistence Chaos
According to a website promoting the piece, Dong is a "contemporary internet artist whose work critiques modern day extremely-online culture. The Persistence of Chaos was created as a collaboration between the artist and cybersecurity company Deep Instinct, which provided the malware and technical expertise to execute the work in a safe environment."
Dong said the viruses in the laptop have caused $95 billion in financial damages. It's unlikely that the laptop itself was the cause of the $95 billion in damages. It's more likely that the viruses it contains are the same that are known to have caused damages worldwide.
"The sale of malware for operational purposes is illegal in the United States"
Dong's laptop is "airgapped," which means its ability to connect to the internet has been disabled. Its ports have also been disabled, so USB sticks can't be used to transfer its threats.
The terms of the auction also state that "The sale of malware for operational purposes is illegal in the United States. As a buyer you recognize that this work represents a potential security hazard. By submitting a bid you agree and acknowledge that you're purchasing this work as a piece of art or for academic reasons, and have no intention of disseminating any malware."
Of course, anyone with an intermediate knowledge of computers would have no trouble figuring out a way to extra the viruses from the hard drive, despite the fact that the laptop itself is airgapped.
The details of the auction, including the selling price, were reported by Dong himself on his website. So it's worth taking the claims with a grain of salt until the sale can be verified. Deep Instinct, the firm that Dong partnered with, did not immediately return a request for comment.
The buyer of The Persistence of Chaos is anonymous. Here's hoping Dong's dangerous art didn't fall into the wrong hands.
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