Don't forget that the legal system started updating itself and now has laws on the books more akin to being charged with terrorism. Another thing to consider is people getting threatened with bogus associations to organized crime.

People keep a low profile and things are more implicitly communicated when out in the open. A good hacker is creative, so a creative individual can just as easily imagine the "alternate" possibilities of a particular technology.

Are you interested in Setec Astronomy? :D