The term “hacker” is often associated with cybercrime, which has a negative connotation. However, there are also good hackers, known as white hat hackers. They use their skills to improve IT security by working on behalf of companies and testing IT systems through cyber attacks.
Through this process, white hat hackers can identify and close security gaps in the company. This ensures optimized IT security and protects against potential hacker attacks. As a result, a white hat hacker is the counterpart to so-called “black hat hackers”. White hat hackers work in the same way as black hat hackers by intervening in the company's system. The difference in finding a security vulnerability is that it is fixed by white hat hackers.
These hackers are used in companies that are responsible for managing customer information and internal knowledge. Smaller companies often lack the resources to hire white hat hackers. They therefore play an important role in increasing cyber security.