Hacking can cause serious financial and reputational damage.

By thinking like cybercriminals and anticipating malicious actions, ethical hackers can strengthen a company’s security infrastructure. Instead, their goal is to help organizations uncover and fix system vulnerabilities that could be exploited by black hat hackers if left unchecked. White hat hackers also infiltrate computer systems, but they do so without malicious intent. Once they have access to a system, black hat hackers can spy on victims’ online activities and steal sensitive information to ransom for a price. They create malicious software (“malware”) programs that help them gain access to computer networks. Footnote 1īlack hat hackers take advantage of vulnerabilities in computer systems to disable an individual’s or organization’s operations. These include black hat, white hat, red hat, gray hat, green hat, and blue hat hackers. There are different types of hackers, often referred to as various colored “hats” within the industry. It’s also a major area of concern in cybersecurity. Hacking is the process by which a person or group of people gains unauthorized access to data in a network, system, or computer.