The term hacker has been associated with a negative perception but not all hackers are bad people. Several categories have been used in classifying hackers in terms of intent, skills, and legality in the area of cybersecurity. This knowledge of these differences can aid organizations in knowing who is defending them and who is a threat.
White Hat Hackers: The Ethical Defenders.
Ethical hackers (also known as white hat hackers) do not compromise security but help to make it better. They find the weaknesses by carrying out authorized testing and deliver it to organizations in a responsible manner. White hats operate under the law and often as penetration testers, bug bounty hunters or cybersecurity consultants. Their purpose is prevention: they want to find the vulnerabilities before their other hackers do.
Example: A white hat contracted by a company audits its web application with regard to weak authentication and reports the results to get patched.
Black Hat Hackers: Computer criminals.
Black hat hackers take advantage of vulnerability to gain or seek revenge or cause sabotage. They work unlawfully, retrieve data, infect with viruses, or sell stolen accounts. Their activities lead to violations of data, loss of money, and negative reputation.
Example: A black hat hacks into an online shopping store and steals credit card information and sells it through the dark web.
Blue Hat Hacker: The Security Testers
Blue hat hackers are between the white and black hackers. The term has two meanings:
- Organizations inviting independent testers to find their vulnerabilities before release (such as security related beta testers).
- Hackers who want to be recognized or want revenge publicly expose the vulnerabilities without necessarily acquiring data.
Blue hat in most corporate settings is a term used to describe trusted external testers who assist businesses to test their systems before making them operational.
Key Differences
| Type | Legal Status | Motivation | Typical Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Hat | Legal | Security improvement | Ethical hacker / Pentester |
| Black Hat | Illegal | Financial or personal gain | Cybercriminal |
| Blue Hat | Semi-legal or authorized | Testing or curiosity | Pre-release tester |
Why It Matters
Companies need to know the type of hacker, in order to develop effective security measures. Bug bounty programs or penetration testing can be used to engage the white hats in order to identify the weaknesses in a safe and ethical manner.
Bugv links out organizations with reputable ethical hackers to find and address weaknesses before offenders can take advantage of them.
Engage known white hats engage Bugv to perform secure responsible vulnerability testing. Learn more at Bugv.
