Which of the following is a common type of hacker?

• A. Black Hats
• B. White Hats
• C. Gray Hats
• D. Script Kiddies

Answer: (C)

Types of hackers are often described by intent and permission. A gray hat sits between the extremes: they may probe systems or find vulnerabilities without explicit authorization, yet their aims aren’t to cause harm or steal. Their motivation is usually to improve security— discovering issues and sometimes reporting them to the owner or publicizing them to pressure a fix—without the clear permission a white hat would have. In practice, many security researchers operate in this gray area, which makes gray hats a commonly discussed category. By contrast, black hats act with malicious intent, white hats test with explicit authorization to help protect systems, and script kiddies use pre-made tools with limited understanding. So gray hats best fit the idea of a common, real-world hacker type.