LONDON: The World Federation of Exchanges has launched a cyber security committee made up of members from dozens of exchanges and clearing houses to collaborate on finding the most effective ways to protect the global capital markets from cyber crime.

The Cyber Security Working Group will be chaired by Mark Graff, chief information security officer, at Nasdaq OMX Group and vice-chaired by Jerry Perullo, who heads information security at IntercontinentalExchange Group.

“We are tasked with a significant goal: to build universal best practices and partner with third-parties to combat systemic cyber abuse to ensure the resiliency and strength of our capital markets,” Graff said in a statement.

Around half of the world’s securities exchanges were the target of cyber-attacks last year, according to a paper released in July by the World Federation of Exchanges Office and the research department of the International Organization of Securities Commissions.

The prevalence of attacks along with the interconnected nature of the markets creates the potential for widespread systemic impacts, the groups said.

In addition to developing cyber security best practices, the new committee will focus on principles such as facilitating information sharing, including threat intelligence, attack trends, and useful policies, standards and technologies, the WFE said.