I can understand that legacy gadgets, like the first-generation Apple iPod for example, may have some collectible value, but a laptop like the a 10.2-inch netbook from about a little over a decade ago? Probably not, but in the case of this particular unit, it has been snapped up in an auction for an astounding $1.2 million for reasons nothing other than it is a sinister machine.
You see, this netbook, a Samsung NC10-14GB dubbed The Persistence of Chaos, is no ordinary tiny laptop; it packs six computer viruses that were responsible for an estimated $95 billion in economic damages. Now, you may think that this is one of the evil products put up on sale at a super villain convention. Well, fortunately, it isn’t (and also super villain con doesn’t exist). It is actually an art commissioned by cybersecurity firm Deep Instinct and created by artist Guo O Dong.
Despite the laptop’s potential in leaving the world in shamble, it is totally safe for now – if you resist the temptation to connect it to the WiFi or plugging a USB drive. In other words, it should remain isolated and air-gapped like it is now so that it won’t cause any destruction. For now it is as harmless as a dove, but you could also say it is like primed bomb.
The real question is, why would anyone conjured up something this dangerous? Well, according to a report by The Verge, its creator explains that the idea was to turn abstract threats posed by the digital world into physical form.
The six viruses in the laptop were handpicked by the virtue (or not) for the magnitude of economic damage they’ve caused. They include WannaCry, a ransomware that cripples computers in hospitals and factories in 150 countries in 2017, and the infamous ILOVEYOU, a computer worm infected countless PC worldwide in year 2000.
Also loaded inside the laptop are MyDoom, SoBig, BlackEnergy, and DarkTequiila malware. Each and every virus/malware is a reminder that viruses and malware are real-world threat that could bring the world down on its knees. Well, talk about dangerous art… this piece of supposed tech art should be locked inside a vault, buried deep inside the Earth.
At this point, I can’t help but to wonder why would any shell out $1.2 million for such volatile, malware-loaded and also very outdated laptop? Why???
Images: Deep Instinct/The Persistence of Chaos.
Source: The Verge.
