On the previous Friday, trading on multiple markets operated by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME)—the world's second-largest derivatives exchange—came to a standstill for over 10 hours due to a malfunction at a data center. This past Saturday, CyrusOne, the operator of the data center, confirmed that the malfunction was a result of human operational mistakes. A representative from CyrusOne explained that the onsite personnel and contractors at the Aurora, Illinois data center did not follow the standard procedure to drain the cooling towers before the onset of freezing weather. This led to the cooling system functioning under undue pressure due to icing, which in turn caused equipment temperatures to rise uncontrollably. CyrusOne mentioned that it had implemented thorough and immediate measures to repair the cooling system. Nonetheless, CME's statement highlighted that the initial corrective actions taken by the data center actually worsened the situation, culminating in the failure of several chillers. This incident underscores the potential dangers tied to CME's significant dependence on a single data center. Initially owned by CME, the facility was transferred to CyrusOne in 2016 under a 15-year leaseback arrangement. On Saturday, CME expressed its full awareness of the significant repercussions this incident has had on its clients worldwide.