A lot has changed in the last 10 years since I first poked my head below the surface of the mainstream computer world into the realm of the computer underground. The thing that most intrigued me about this world, and why I stayed, was the huge body of knowledge and ways of looking at things that wasn't taught in schools and wasn't in any books. This incredibly important information about the computers that ran most of the businesses and governments in the world was largely ignored. This still holds true today and is a driver for many young people to enter the world of hacking. This has not changed much.
Script kiddies seem to be everywhere.
Their numbers are enormous compared to those who actually have the hacking skills to find the vulnerabilities in a supposedly secure system. Another thing that hasn't changed is the rebellious nature of teenagers. The quantity of attacks has increased because there are more attackers and they are better armed. There are more people who have access to computers today and the information and tools to carry out attacks has never been easier to access. There are more underground Web sites, more underground newsletters, more exploit kits and tools than ever before.