Software security developer Symantec said the unemployed are being targetted in spam and phishing attacks, as cybercriminals try to take advantage of the global economic downturn. In its Mid-year update; 2009 Security trends report, it said it is additionally seeing an increase in the number of malware attacks each month, that social networks are still a popular target and that spam is hitting record levels. It has also seen the large scale distribution of a small number of threats, such as the CodeRed and Nimda attacks. Attackers are also increasingly sophisticated and organised, the report said, with them using deceptive methods that imitate traditional business practices.