Not all hackers wear black hats

The word "hacker" has a pretty negative connotation. It brings to mind other descriptions like cybercriminal, thief, malicious, and the list goes on ...

It’s easy to see why the term has a bad rep. The news is full of stories about hackers stealing data from large companies and the government. Hackers are the bad guys.

But are they?

Tesla recently announced they are hiring hackers to find and fix security holes in its Model S car. Google has started a league of hackers called “Project Zero” to track down security flaws in their software.

Companies such as Facebook frequently sponsor hack-a-thons that invite anyone to try and crack their systems. Why would these companies want to hire or encourage hackers?

The truth is not all hackers are the same; in fact, there are three different kinds:

White hat

Also known as “ethical hackers,” these hackers use their skills to make the Internet a safer place. Some white hats do this for fun and then report the information to companies or site operators they've hacked so that weaknesses can be fixed.

It is these white hat hackers that Tesla is hiring in hopes that they'll discover any security holes in their Internet-enabled cars before the bad hackers find and exploit them.

Gray hat

These are the guys in the middle. Sometimes they act legally, sometimes not. They usually do not hack for personal gain or have malicious intentions, and they might or might not commit crimes knowingly during the course of their technological exploits.

An example of this type of operator is a "hacktivist" group that wants to bring attention to a political agenda or social cause. Anonymous, a prominent hacktivist group, recently took down several Israeli websites in protest of the Gaza crisis.

Black hat

These are the bad guys who give the word hacker its negative connotation. These hackers are committing crimes — and they know it. They are looking to exploit companies or individuals and their devices for their financial gain.

The next time you hear the word hacker, don’t automatically assume it’s a bad thing. Hacking can used for good or evil — it all depends on the hacker’s intent.

Robert Siciliano is an online security expert to McAfee and the author of "99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Mobile was Hacked!"

photo courtesy bryon lippincott | flickr