white / black / grey hat
jargonhackingsecurity
A shorthand for a hacker's intent: white hat (authorized/defensive), black hat (malicious), grey hat (in between).
The hats borrow from old Westerns. A white hat tests systems with permission; a black hat attacks for gain or harm; a grey hat operates in the murky middle, perhaps probing without authorization but disclosing rather than exploiting. Intent and authorization, not skill, draw the lines.
Also known as: white hat, black hat, grey hat, gray hat, hat colors