It is a natural and predictable progression. You'll have to admit, the exploits of hackers who merely spread viruses and took down servers was getting stale.
Vandalism is a low form of antisocial behavior.
Eavesdropping and theft of secrets are of a higher order. That's about the most positive spin that can be put on this development. Not long before, a cracker was discovered to have been siphoning money into his bank account from the gas pumps of a local service station. There are other crimes waiting to be perpetrated, if they haven't been already, including the electronic laundering of illicit money through offshore bank accounts and holding confidential medical information hostage, to name a couple. And the growing use of less-secure wireless networks not to mention the physical theft of laptops will create even more seams of vulnerability.