I know it was inevitable, but I find it rather disappointing that exploits have become such big business. I felt like the hacker/cracker community between the late-80s to mid-90s was just that: a community, which likely developed naturally because of the scarcity of information at the time. Sure, there were exploits being traded (and probably even sold occasionally), but I never got the impression that anyone treated it like a business.
Admittedly, I'm probably just being sentimental about my childhood, but that's how I remember it.
It has changed a lot in the last 20 years. Now organized crime as well as the involvement of nation-states has made it far more lucrative, and conversely, dangerous. Kingpin (kingpin.cc) does a good job of describing how much money there is to be made, even when you're not a PhD.
Admittedly, I'm probably just being sentimental about my childhood, but that's how I remember it.