Greyhat hacker

Greyhat hackers have a more ambiguous mode of operation compared to blackhat and whitehat hackers. For instance, they may use illegal means to detect a vulnerability, but then disclose it to the targeted organization. Another perspective on greyhat hackers focuses on those that find exploits, and then sell the know-how to governments but only after receiving a payment. Greyhat hackers distinguish themselves from blackhat hackers on a single important criteria: they don’t use or sell the exploit for criminal gain.