Black hat (computer security)

A black hat (black hat hacker or blackhat) is a computer hacker who violates laws or ethical standards for nefarious purposes, such as cybercrime, cyberwarfare, or malice. These acts can range from piracy to identify theft. A Black hat is often referred to as a "cracker".^[1]

The term originates from 1950s westerns, with "bad guys" (criminals) typically depicted as having worn black hats and "good guys" (heroes) wearing white ones. In the same way, black hat hacking is contrasted with the more ethical white hat approach to hacking. Additionally, there exists a third category, called grey hat hacking, characterized by individuals who hack, usually with good intentions but by illegal means.^[2]^[3]^[4]

^ Sheikh, Ahmed (2021), "Introduction to Ethical Hacking", Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) Preparation Guide, Berkeley, CA: Apress, pp. 1–9, doi:10.1007/978-1-4842-7258-9_1, ISBN 978-1-4842-7257-2, S2CID 239755067, retrieved 2024-03-08
^ "What is a Black-Hat hacker?". www.kaspersky.com. 2022-02-09. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
^ testovaniebezpecnosti (2017-11-10). "Hackers are not just the bad guys – brief history and classification". HackTrophy (in Slovak). Retrieved 2022-11-27.
^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1] Sheikh, Ahmed (2021), "Introduction to Ethical Hacking", Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) Preparation Guide, Berkeley, CA: Apress, pp. 1–9, doi:10.1007/978-1-4842-7258-9_1, ISBN 978-1-4842-7257-2, S2CID 239755067, retrieved 2024-03-08

[What_is_a_Black-Hat_hacker-2] "What is a Black-Hat hacker?". www.kaspersky.com. 2022-02-09. Retrieved 2022-11-27.

[:0-3] testovaniebezpecnosti (2017-11-10). "Hackers are not just the bad guys – brief history and classification". HackTrophy (in Slovak). Retrieved 2022-11-27.

[:1-4] Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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