An ethical hacker (“white hat hacker”) is an information security professional who has the same skills and uses the same technologies as a malicious hacker (“black hat hacker”) to discover vulnerabilities and weaknesses in an organization’s systems.

A black hat hacker operates without the consent of victims, with the goal of financial gain, causing damage, or gaining fame. A white hat hacker or ethical hacker is invited by organizations to help them hack themselves, so to speak, identify security gaps before black hat hackers do, and remediate them.