Blackhat

In the field of Computer security, a black-hat is another word for a cracker, or an unethical hacker. If in this context we define a hacker as a computer user who is skilled in the technical details of computer networks, a black-hat is one who uses those skills for unethical or damaging reasons. (See hacker for more definitions.)

A black-hat is differentiated from a script kiddie in that the latter is assumed to have no appreciable skill. A black-hat usually garners some amount of respect from his or her peers, often by demonstrating their ability to exploit security weaknesses.

The difference between a black-hat and a whitehat is a much finer point, and at the surface comes down to a question of ethics. Together, they form a community whose goals are similar but whose methods and motives may differ wildly. A black-hat who inflitrates and changes a high-visibility website may feel that their method is the most effective one which will inform people of a certain software vulnerability, regardless of the fact that such an action is certainly discouraged and may be illegal.

See Also

• Hacker, under the section Hacker: Intruder and Criminal, for a discussion of the methods which black-hats often use.