Tor is useful for hackers and law enforcement alike because it anonymizes the TCP client from the TCP server. Obviously this is useful for both hackers and law enforcement investigators alike. You're right in that that has its limits. It doesn't protect against traffic analysis by an adversary who is able to observe both the client's and the server's internet connection.
But the talk was about "OPSEC for Hackers". If the hacker's adversary is already monitoring his internet connection for correlation to specific and ongoing attacks, he's pwned.
This was filed in court in at least one of the Anonymous prosecutions. Basically the investigators said "We observed the suspect walk into his house, we observed his Mac connect to his wifi, we observed Tor traffic over his wifi, and we subsequently observed the suspect's hacker alias join the IRC channel."
But the talk was about "OPSEC for Hackers". If the hacker's adversary is already monitoring his internet connection for correlation to specific and ongoing attacks, he's pwned.
This was filed in court in at least one of the Anonymous prosecutions. Basically the investigators said "We observed the suspect walk into his house, we observed his Mac connect to his wifi, we observed Tor traffic over his wifi, and we subsequently observed the suspect's hacker alias join the IRC channel."