AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
The group is hiring top notch cyber defense analysts and engineers for a dozen positions globally, including New York, Chicago, Houston, Belfast and Bangalore, according to its jobsite.
The new team of cybersecurity professionals are "being assembled to execute a pivotal role in protecting and defending the nation's critical infrastructure", according to the CME website.
Among the roles they are hiring for include senior cyber defense engineers specializing in web application firefall and security software, a cyber defense incident responder, and multiple cyber defense analysts.
The new team will work closely with colleagues within cyber defense, technology application development and technology infrastructure & operations, according to the jobsite.
The CME had an average daily trading volume of 16.4 million contracts per day in June, and a cyber attack on the exchange would pose a serious risk to financial markets.
The company's investment in cyber defence highlights a growing trend among corporations and governments to stay ahead of the threat of cyber attacks in today's digitally connected world.
Last year alone, over 480 million records were leaked and over $1 billion was stolen globally due to cyber attacks, according to IT Governance. Cyber attacks took place across industries as banks, e-brokers, exchanges, law firms, and music companies were vulnerable.
On July 8 of last year, NYSE, United Airlines and the Wall Street Journal experienced "technical difficulties." The unconfirmed cyber breach halted stock trading at the exchange for over three hours. JP Morgan was also the victim of a cyberattack that saw a data breach of 76 million households and seven million small businesses.
CME Group declined to provide details on the new team.