Most people would find it hard to label a computer infected with six of the worst-known viruses, which combined have cost the world $95 billion, as art. However, Chinese digital artist Guo O Dong strongly believes his malware-loaded 'Persistence of Chaos'— a Samsung NC10, which runs on Windows XP — is a masterpiece. What's more, the creator claims to have sold the 'artwork' to an anonymous buyer for an astounding $1.345 million in an online auction on May 25, 2019.
According to Dong's website, 'Persistence of Chaos,' which was built in collaboration with New York cybersecurity company Deep Instinct, contains six dangerous 'worms.' Among them is ILOVEYOU, a computer bug from 2000 that appeared as a 'love letter' attached to emails and cost the world an estimated $15 billion.
Then there is the 'Sobig worm', which doubled as a trojan horse — meaning it could masquerade as something other than malware — that set back computer users a costly $37 billion in 2003.