What Is a Grey Hat Hacker?

Written by Coursera Staff • Updated on

Learn what a grey hat hacker is, how it compares to other types of hackers, and how to use your hacking skills for the greater good as an ethical hacker.

[Featured Image] Two white hat hackers eat lunch in a cafe while using a laptop to try to stop a grey hat hacker's illegal activity.

Grey hat hackers use potentially unethical practices to gain unauthorized entry to computer systems and networks without the malicious intentions of people who want to steal your data or hijack your computer. Grey hat hackers may be people who merely want to alert a company to potential vulnerabilities to those willing to conduct some level of criminal activity but will alert the company afterward. 

No matter the intention, grey hat hacking is illegal. However, if you want to use your hacking skills for the greater good, you can consider a career as a white hat or ethical hacker. Ethical hacking, sometimes called penetration testing or vulnerability analysis, is a growing career field. 

According to Verizon’s 2024 Data Breach Investigation Report, it confirmed that there were 30,458 cyber threat incidents in the US alone, and one-third of the reports were data breaches [1]. These numbers demonstrate how important it is for security professionals to think like criminals and get ahead of security vulnerabilities before an incident occurs. 

Read more: What Is Ethical Hacking?

What is a grey hat hacker? 

A grey hat hacker exists between white and black hat hackers, usually using black-hat tactics for white-hat intentions. Hackers are categorized depending on their intentions and what they plan to do once they break in. A white hat hacker is an ethical hacker working to help a company protect itself from cyber criminals, and a black hat hacker works outside the law to exploit vulnerabilities. 

Read more: 4 Ethical Hacking Certifications to Boost Your Career

1. White hat hackers

A white hat hacker helps companies find vulnerabilities in their networks and security systems by breaking in the same way a black hat hacker would. By thinking like a criminal, a white hat hacker exposes the methods a malicious hacker might take to steal data or otherwise breach security. 

The difference is that a company or organization hires a white hat hacker and gives them permission to hack the network. When a white hat hacker finds a vulnerability, they report it back to the organization so the security team can correct the problem and make it more difficult for a black hat hacker to get in. 

Read more: What Is a White Hat? The Ethical Side of Hacking

2. Black hat hackers

Black hat hackers illegally break into computer networks or systems, reasons that they may do this include: 

  • Stealing personal data

  • Hijacking computer systems

  • Installing malware or ransomware

  • Causing havoc and destruction for personal gain

These individuals operate outside of ethics and outside of the law.

Read more: 5 Cybersecurity Career Paths (and How to Get Started)

3. Grey hat hackers

Anything between a white hat hacker and a black hat hacker is a grey hat hacker. Usually, a grey hat hacker breaks into networks and computer systems without permission but notifies the company of what they did.

In some cases, grey hat hackers have the intentions of white hat hackers and simply want to help companies and organizations keep their information secure. Even though they didn’t get permission, they intend to help businesses. 

In some cases, grey hat hackers might ask for payment before they reveal the security issues uncovered. Sometimes, they use the problem they find for malicious intent and purposefully leave notes or clues marking that they were there. A grey hat hacker might also make the exploitation public and open the company up to cyber attacks. 

Why are grey hat hackers illegal? 

Any time you break into a network or computer system that you don’t have permission to enter, you’re not acting ethically or legally. Even with good intentions, you’ll be at risk for legal action if you engage in grey hat hacking. 

You could consider bug bounty programs if you’re interested in grey hat hacking to help people while practicing your hacking skills. Companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook have offered rewards for security sleuths who find vulnerabilities that affect their product. This form of white hat hacking will let you flex your hacking muscles in your spare time without crossing any ethical boundaries. 

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Other types of hackers

Grey hat hackers are one type of hacker. Other kinds of hackers that you might hear about include: 

  • Blue hat: A blue hat hacker is a kind of white hat hacker who works specifically for a security firm.

  • Red hat: A red hat hacker tries to stop black hat hackers by using aggressive and potentially unethical practices. 

  • Hacktivists: A hacktivist uses potentially unethical hacking practices to further social justice missions or in service of an ideology. 

  • Crypto hackers: A crypto hacker attempts to break into a network or computer system to steal digital currency or the computing power required to mine cryptocurrency. 

  • Cyberterrorists: Terrorists who use hacking and other methods to disrupt infrastructure and spread fear. 

Read more: Red Team vs. Blue Team in Cybersecurity

Who uses ethical hacking? 

If you’d like to use your hacking knowledge and experience for the greater good, you could help companies monitor and guard against malicious hackers by becoming an ethical hacker. 

As an ethical hacker, your job title might be a penetration tester, vulnerability assessor, or information security consultant, among other potential titles. No matter the title, the work is the same: looking for areas in a network or computer system that malicious agents can exploit. You could join a firm working as a white hat hacker or become a consultant or contractor working independently.  

Read more: 10 Cybersecurity Jobs: Entry-Level and Beyond

Ethical hacker 

Average annual salary in the US: $109,786 [3]

Job outlook (projected job growth from 2022 to 2032): 32 percent [4]

Education requirements: To become an ethical hacker, you can earn a bachelor’s degree or obtain the necessary skills with non-degree certification programs. You can also earn the Certified Ethical Hacker credential from the EC-Council. 

As an ethical hacker, you fight against malicious attacks by replicating the actions that a black hat hacker would use to access systems. When you find vulnerabilities, you communicate with other team members to strengthen security. If you work for a private company, you may look for ways to protect its assets and safeguard its data. If you work in a government role, you’ll likely take action against cyber terrorists and work to protect national security. 

Read more: Ethical Hacker Salary: What You'll Make and Why

How to begin a career as a white hat hacker

One way to begin a career as an ethical hacker is to earn a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity, computer science, or a related field. You’ll need skills in computer networks and systems, security protocols, encryption, hacking skills, and how cybercriminals operate. You must also know programming languages such as Java, Python, and SQL. 

You can also earn a professional credential from the EC-Council, a global organization that provides cybersecurity resources. The Certified Ethical Hacker certification can help you gain skills in hacking if you have yet to gain experience or want to learn new hacking techniques. 

Read more: 5 Cybersecurity Career Paths (and How to Get Started)

Learn more with Coursera

Although the ethics behind the work of a grey hat hacker aren’t legal, you can pursue a career as an ethical hacker and help organizations keep their systems and data secure. Begin preparing for your Certified Ethical Hacker certification with the Ethical Hacking Essentials course offered by the EC-Council on Coursera. This program covers ethical hacking fundamentals, information security threats, social engineering techniques, and more.

Article sources

1

Bluefin. “The Biggest Data Breaches of the Year (2024), https://www.bluefin.com/bluefin-news/biggest-data-breaches-year-2024/#:~:text=Verizon's%202024%20Data%20Breach%20Investigation,other%20type%20of%20extortion%20technique..” Accessed April 11, 2024. 

Updated on
Written by:
Coursera Staff

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