Persistence of Chaos: World’s most dangerous laptop sold for $1.3 million

The auction for the world’s most dangerous laptop dubbed as ‘persistence of chaos’ has officially ended when an art lover paid $1.3 million to purchase the laptop. Build by a Chinese internet artist Guo O Dong, the persistence of chaos looks like a normal laptop but is loaded with six of the world’s most dangerous malwares. According to Dong, the laptop is safe provided that it’s not connected to your Wi-Fi or a USB has been plugged in.

‘The intention behind the laptop was to make physical the abstract threats posed by the digital world. We have this fantasy that things that happen in computers can’t actually affect us, but this is absurd. Weaponised viruses that affect power grids or public infrastructure can cause direct harm,’ The Verge quoted Dong as saying.

The laptop created by Dong is a 10.2-inch Samsung NC10-14GB. The six most dangerous viruses in the laptop were specifically chosen for the volume of economic harm they have caused earlier. The six viruses that the persistence of chaos include ILOVEYOU, a computer virus from 2000 that popped up as a ‘love letter’ appended to emails; and WannaCry, a ransomware attack that broke down PCs in factories globally in 2017.

According to Dong, WannaCry acts as a prime example of how digital virus can pose a serious physical harm. The effect of WannaCry in Britain was such that it caused country’s National Health Service approx. $100 million in damages and also forced the cancellation of thousands of doctors’ appointments.

While how much damage WannaCry exactly made to the patient is difficult to identify, but it caused human harm that can’t be overlooked.

The auction of persistence of chaos was commissioned by the cybersecurity firm DeepInstinct. While the price looks a lot to pay for an old laptop loaded with dangerous viruses. Dong calls this laptop ‘a kind of bestiary — a catalogue of historical threats.’