white hat hacker

n.

A hacker who, upon discovering a vulnerability in a computer system, alerts the system vendor to the problem.

Example Citation:

"Mell says the attack scripts are posted on hacker Web sites by other hackers, by disgruntled systems administrators trying to draw attention, and eventually patches, to holes in their systems, and by 'white hat' hackers seeking to alert the computer security industry to vulnerabilities."

— Michael E. Ruane, "New Computer Technology Makes Hacking a Snap," The Washington Post, March 10, 1999

Notes:

There are also black hat hackers who exploit system security breaches for nefarious ends, and gray hat hackers who supply information about a security issue both to the vendor and to crackers (hackers who have succumbed to the dark side of the Force).

Related Words:

beehacker

chief hacking officer

cracker

dark-side hacker

digilante

distributed denial of service

ethical hacker

hackathon

hacktivist

honeynet

kiddiot

patriot hacker

put-pocketing

samurai

script kiddie

Category:

Hacking and Hackers

White hat hackers are only "white" if they work for the target. It's no more OK to check a system's security without permission than it is to walk down the street checking to see if your neighbors doors and Windows are locked "just because they connected their house to the street".White hat hackers are only "white" if they work for the target. It's no more OK to check a system's security without permission than it is to walk down the street checking to see if your neighbors doors and Windows are locked "just because they connected their house to the street".