Hackers are often described as either “white hat,” black hat,” or “gray hat” hackers. But what is a white hat hacker—and how does that differ from the rest? Here’s a quick rundown.

Gray hats fall into the middle ground between these two other hacker categories. Gray hats sell or disclose their zero-day vulnerabilities not to criminals, but to governments---law enforcement ...

Kamkar is a "gray hat" hacker — not all good, not all bad. He works on the edges of the law — breaking into cars, connected doorbells, drones and phones to try to find vulnerabilities.

The term gray hat hacker reflects that reality. A gray hat hacker will break the law in the pursuit of a hack, but does not do so maliciously or for personal gain. Many would argue Anonymous are ...

Now, if the attacks on Islamist web sites and social media accounts by the French-based Anonymous group OpCharlieHebdo can be verified, they will burnish the hackers' white-hat credentials.

"Gray hat" hackers are finding that previously acceptable acts, such as notifying the public of a security hole, could land them in jail.

Gray hats combine the intent and skills of both black hat and white hat hackers. Just like ethical hackers, they hack into a system to point out vulnerabilities.

Everything from cars to thermostats is being connected to the Internet, raising security concerns. Samy Kamkar, who once hacked MySpace, hopes exposing vulnerabilities will make these things safer.

Everything from cars to thermostats is being connected to the Internet, raising security concerns. Samy Kamkar, who once hacked MySpace, hopes... This 'Gray Hat' Hacker Breaks Into Your Car — To ...

Everything from cars to thermostats is being connected to the Internet, raising security concerns. Samy Kamkar, who once hacked MySpace, hopes exposing vulnerabilities will make these things safer.