White Hat Computer Hacker

A white hat hacker is a computer security expert who uses hacking skills to protect systems rather than to harm them. White hats test networks, software and devices with the owner's permission, a practice known as penetration testing, or they report flaws they discover so that the owner can fix them before disclosure. The name comes from old Western films, in which heroes wore white hats and villains black; the criminal counterpart is the black hat hacker, and "grey hats" fall in between. Many companies pay white hats through a bug bounty. In crypto, white hats review code alongside formal smart contract audits, and some have moved funds out of vulnerable contracts before attackers could take them. After a hack, protocols sometimes call on attackers to act as white hats and return funds for a reward.