Small firms are at the greatest risk from cyber scammers, a government cyber security body has warned.

The Cyber Security Information Sharing Partnership (CISP), set up by the Cabinet Office with the security service, Government Communications HQ and the National Crime Agency, aims to help organisations tackle cyber threats.

Speaking at a Law Society event, James Crawford, head of situational awareness at CISP, said smaller firms could be seen as an easy target for hackers seeking to obtain sensitive information on clients.

‘Scammers realise that larger companies have [dedicated] resources, so they are looking down the supply chain to smaller firms.’

He said so far 330 firms have signed up to the scheme, including a number of larger law firms.

CISP is calling on firms to join its free membership service, which provides firms with access to the latest advice on tackling cyber security threats.  

Earlier this month the Solicitors Regulation Authority warned firms not to open email attachments from scammers posing as the SRA and purporting to be about pending investigations.