| Gray hat describes a cracker (or, if you prefer, hacker)
who exploits a security weakness in a computer system or product in order
to bring the weakness to the attention of the owners. Unlike a black hat,
a gray hat acts without malicious intent. The goal of a gray hat is to improve
system and network security. However, by publicizing a vulnerability, the
gray hat may give other crackers the opportunity to exploit it. This differs
from the white hat who alerts system owners and vendors of a vulnerability
without actually exploiting it in public. |
