What is running a program — CCA-F Exam Prep

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L0.03|What is running a program
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Mystery
A Wall Street trading floor in chaos. Screens showing stock prices plummeting. Traders on phones, panicked faces. A single server rack in the background with a green 'RUNNING' light. Time stamp reads 9:31 AM. Dark, urgent atmosphere.

August 1, 2012. 9:31 AM. Knight Capital's servers start buying stocks.

Nobody told them to. Or rather — somebody did, eight years ago. Old test code, never deleted, sitting on a server. A technician deployed new software but forgot to update one of eight servers. The old code activated.

In 45 minutes, the program bought $7 billion worth of stocks the company didn't want. By the time someone pulled the plug, Knight Capital had lost $440 million.

The program ran. That's all it takes.