For the derivatives market, it was a slap in the face. Not only did companies lack adequate staff to meet the crisis, but many of the workers were too young to know how to keep operations afloat. It was also the second time in just one week that a major market had been humbled.
When ION’s systems went down, a team of coders at one London brokerage scrambled to build their own ad-hoc system to match off clients’ trades, and they had it up and running within hours, according to one person familiar with the matter.But while those types of creative efforts have helped to mitigate the fallout so far, the challenges are growing as the crisis rolls on.
“The LME has been closely monitoring liquidity across all venues since the incident occurred, and has not yet seen any evidence of liquidity being affected,” the exchange said in an emailed statement. “We continue to work closely with affected members to help them continue their business as normally as possible, and reduce any wider impact.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is also seeking information on the cyberattack and reached out to ION executives, people familiar with the matter said. The agency is aware of the situation, it said in a statement.