Member-only story
When an Intern Tried to Outsmart the System
In the bustling offices of a renowned e-commerce company that had recently gone public, a young intern named Alex was at the center of an unfolding drama. The responsibility on his shoulders was enormous as he managed the company’s production database containing vital customer data, transaction histories, and other critical information. Although just an intern, his role was pivotal, and the consequences of his actions would soon reverberate through the entire organization.
On an ordinary day that seemed like any other, Alex encountered an issue within the database. There were certain data records he believed were no longer needed, and he decided to write a SQL query to remove them, aiming to optimize the database’s efficiency. Alex was a bright student and well-versed in SQL, but a slight oversight was about to lead to an irreversible catastrophe.
Alex accidentally executed a query that was supposed to delete only specific data records but, due to a minor mistake, sent a command that erased the entire production database! It was an unimaginable disaster in the making.
Compounding the situation, Alex failed to use a “transaction” command after running the query. This omission meant that the changes he made couldn’t be rolled back, and the invaluable data, the lifeblood of the company, vanished in an instant.
