Types of hackers (black hat, white hat)

In short: A black-hat hacker attacks digital infrastructure to cause damage or enrich themselves. Cybersecurity tries to protect it from them.

In more detail: “Hacker” originally just means someone who understands and probes systems deeply. Depending on intent and permission one distinguishes hats.

In Depth

Type	Intent	Permission
Black hat	damage, theft, extortion ([[ransomware	ransomware]])
White hat	find and report weaknesses, improve systems	yes, e.g. in penetration tests
Grey hat	usually no bad intent, but uninvited	no, legal grey area

• Ethical hacking: white hats test with consent whether systems are secure and deliver a report. Bug-bounty programmes also reward reported holes.
• Typical attacks: phishing, malware, DDoS, SQL injection, social engineering.
• Legal: unauthorised intrusion into systems is a crime (in Germany § 202a ff. StGB).
• Defence: updates, strong passwords and 2FA, firewall, backups and trained staff (IT security).

See also: security by design