Is this art? Chinese artist Guo O Dong’s virus-packed laptop sells for more than US$1.3 million in online auction
- ‘The Persistence of Chaos’ is loaded with six trojans, worms and malware that have caused at least US$95 billion in damage around the world
- Auction site says Samsung computer is isolated and ‘air gapped’ to prevent spread of the programs
For Chinese artist Guo O Dong, the simple black Samsung laptop computer, loaded with six potent viruses, symbolises one of the world’s most frightening threats.
On Tuesday his creation “The Persistence of Chaos” rocked the art world, selling for more than US$1.3 million in a New York online auction.
There is nothing special about the 2008 10-inch Netbook, running Microsoft’s now-outdated Windows XP.
But loaded onto its memory chips are the computing world’s equivalents of the most deadly infectious diseases: “I LOVE YOU” from 2000, “Sobig” of 2003, “MyDoom” (2004), “DarkTequila” (2013), “BlackEnergy” (2015), and the most notorious of all, the “WannaCry” ransomware from two years ago.
It is a powerful symbol of the threat on simple laptop can pose to the entire world. The six trojans, worms and malware loaded on it have caused at least US$95 billion in damage around the world, according to Guo.
Guo is an internet artist “whose work critiques modern day extremely online culture”, the auction site, organised by cybersecurity group Deep Instinct, said.