I already mentioned the American Government as being a target of many hackers.
You may also remember that in 1998, the Department of Defense was hacked by someone named Ehud Tenenbau. He was arrested at the time. He was still a teenager then.
Once back on the streets, he decided to wear a white hat and helped companies, many in Israel, to enhance their defenses. But that was only his day time job!
I guess that once you had a taste for a bad behavior, you just go on with it.