# Black Hat

A hacker who breaks into systems with malicious intent, typically for personal or financial gain.

**Black hat[↗](/black-hat)** is a term for a hacker who breaks into computer systems with malicious intent, for financial theft, data destruction, espionage, or personal gain, without authorization[↗](/authorization). The label distinguishes them from ethical \"white hat[↗](/white-hat)\" hackers who test systems with permission.

Black hat activity ranges from lone individuals to organized criminal groups and state-sponsored operations, and it's the behavior most people picture when they hear the word \"hacker.\" Understanding black hat tactics is exactly what defensive security and penetration testing[↗](/penetration-testing) are built around.