The ‘Persistence of Chaos’ laptop is infected with some of the most dangerous malware including WannaCry.
A Samsung’s 11-year old Notebook called the Persistence of Chaos is dubbed the most dangerous PC in the world because it is loaded with six of the most notorious and damaging computer viruses. The computer is now up for sale and the highest bid received so far is $1.1 million.
Reportedly, the collective damages of these viral strains total around £95 billion while all of these viruses are capable of stealing financial data and can even bring down an entire electricity grid.
See: 8 Technologies That Can Hack Into Your Offline Computer and Phone
A Chinese artist Guo O Dong has organized the auction along with Deep Instinct, a cyber-security firm. As per the organizers, the internet capabilities and ports of this laptop are disabled so that the stored viruses don’t land into the hands of unauthorized people.
The laptop’s Internet capability will also remain disabled until it reaches the auction winner. The auction is based out of New York and will end on Wednesday. The seller has clearly mentioned on the auction site that the laptop is indeed a potential security hazard:
“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.”
The year 2008 Samsung NC10-14GB 10.2-inch netbook is reportedly been air-gapped, which is a process that isolates a computer from other networks. As per the T&C of the auction, the laptop isn’t a virus-loaded machine but actually a “piece of art” that is being sold for “academic reasons.” Guo states that this auction should be seen “as a kind of bestiary, a catalog of historical threats. It’s more exciting to see the beasts in a live environment.”
The laptop contains six of the most dangerous malware strains including the infamous WannaCry ransomware. This malware targeted countless computers across 150 countries including the NHS back in May 2017 and demanded ransom in Bitcoin. The ILoveYou malware from the year 2000 that successfully invaded and infected 50m computers in merely two weeks including those of the Pentagon, CIA and the UK Parliament.
MyDoom is an email worm that was launched in 2004 and is part of the string of malware stored on the laptop. Another malware is the powerful email virus SoBig, which was discovered in 2003 and affected at least 1 in 17 emails. DarkTequila keylogger malware is also part of the malware strain that can easily steal login credentials and banking data. Finally, the sixth virus is BlackEnergy 2, which took down the Ukrainian power grid in 2016 and was developed by the KGB.
See: Hackers To Demonstrate How To Hack An Offline Laptop
Some are regarding this auction as a publicity stunt from the mysterious Chinese artist who doesn’t like to disclose his real identity. Deep Instinct refrained from commenting on the auction despite being asked for it. The infected notebook, which runs on Windows XP, is currently streamed live on Twitch and boasts or more than 90,000 views so far.
Watch the livestream below:
Would you buy this laptop?
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