10-15 years ago you would keep things like this quiet and maybe share it with your closest friends. Now it's like everyone is scrambling to show how "good" they are. Something has changed, and I'm not so sure if it's for the better...
In the "good" old days (some of us will recall mind you), those in power ($) controlled all information flow. We now have (though not as strong as I would like it) outlets in which an individual, without corp sponsorship, can have their voice hosted and maybe heard. This is a vast improvement.
those in power ($) controlled all information flow.
...replace '$' with 'knowledge (of bugs, etc.)' and that would be more accurate.
He presented his findings at Defcon, pretty standard operating procedure these days. Instead of pretending bugs are rare and hard to find we're becoming more accepting that bugs will be found and allowing people to responsibly disclosing them is the best way so far.
Regardless of their motives, their (responsible) disclosures generally benefit the users of the software. Also, it's work and seems fair to compensate them. Some of these bugs are not shallow and it takes a remarkable amount of patience and talent to find them, so in some cases they really are good and deserve some recognition.
It's like everyone is looking for approval, and in more public settings.