​Stock exchanges, settlement systems and clearing houses have become increasingly vulnerable to cyber attacks because of their interconnectivity, a new report has found. A sophisticated attack could hamper the ability of such financial market infrastructures (FMIs) to recover sufficiently to complete settlement by the end of the day, thereby risking contagion to other connected entities globally, according to the report, issued this week by the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI). "Disruptions in one FMI may spread to a multitude of other connected entities," said Benoît Coeuré, chairman of the CPMI. "Furthermore, cyber threats tend to be cross-jurisdictional in nature, posing challenges for risk mitigation efforts conducted solely at national or single-institution level. These inherent interdependencies across industry participants and jurisdictions underline the necessity for cooperation and communication between FMIs, central banks and other regulators.

Troud Vagen, Compliance Complete