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"Art Of Fraud" Showcases The Simple Infographic Beauty Of Malware

Turns out, even malicious software can make art.

Antz & Empire of the Sun. Images via

Israel-based biometrics company, BioCatch, is making unexpected waves in the art world. With their first online art catalogue, Art of Fraud, the firm has transformed the metrics of cybercrime into abstract compositions of red and blue dots and lines. Each piece sports a catchy title named after the particular frauds they've detected, as well as the time and location of the attack, but this art wasn't made by human hands—in fact, the accidental artist behind the new work is BioCatch’s malware detection service. During their analysis of user behavior, primarily targeted towards detecting online banking fraud, these services unveil the intricate patterns generated by the movement of malicious software.

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The inspiration for Art of Fraud came directly from BioCatch’s clientele: the firm began to notice that a surprising number of their customers were sporting the malware visualizations as screensavers and backgrounds on their laptops. While some may have overlooked this unusual trend, BioCatch capitalized on the fad, seeing a chance to allow their customers and the general public the opportunity to “visualize and understand the ‘behind the scenes’ mechanism of online banking fraud,” as CEO Benny Rosenbaum describes.

Whether BioCatch's dissemination of this awareness was the true purpose of the Art of Fraud, or whether BioCatch is simply putting a creative new spin on the important work they do, the online exhibition is a wonderful edition to the digital world’s growing repertoire of "found" and computer-generated art. Check out BioCatch’s gallery, and buy a work of your very own on the firm’s website.

h/t Fast Co.

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