white hat

noun

Updated on: 22 Apr 2018

Definition of white hat

1 : one who is admirable and honorable

2 : a mark or symbol of goodness

could use a few more guys in white hats
—Robert Christgau

3 : a hacker who tests computer systems for possible vulnerabilities so that they can be fixed

Chu, 33, is part of a fraternity known as "penetration testers" or "ethical hackers," a group of experts who are hired to hack into computer systems or find other ways to gain access. These so-called "white hats" will spend days or weeks searching company systems to come up with recommendations for fortifying corporations against such threats.
—Greg Wiles

— compare black hat

Recent Examples of white hat from the Web

He was last seen wearing a black sweatshirt, a white T-shirt, a white hat, and white sneakers.

— abigail feldman, BostonGlobe.com, "Police seek suspect in Manchester, N.H., bank robbery," 17 Apr. 2018
And then there was a white hat in the painting, prime headgear for Chambers, as well.

— eric adler, kansascity, "Mystery of Missouri black man in Thomas Hart Benton mural is finally solved | The Kansas City Star," 9 Apr. 2018
Anyone who has ever seen cowboy films knows that the good guys wear white hats and the bad guys wear black.

— gillian brockell, Washington Post, "‘Jesus Christ Superstar’: Why Jews, Christians and even its composer hated it at first," 2 Apr. 2018
Max Justicz, a junior at MIT studying computer science and electrical engineering, is a white hat.

— g.burningham, Newsweek, "The Rise of White Hat Hackers and the Bug Bounty Ecosystem," 31 Jan. 2016
He was last seen wearing a white shirt, white shorts, white hat, and slides, police said.

— linda trischitta, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Car thief steals precious cargo: A baby girl, police say," 4 Apr. 2018
Today, Monsegur is the director of assessment services at Rhino, which deploys white hat hackers (the good guys) to test a client’s network before the black hats (the bad guys) get in and wreak havoc.

— aki ito, Bloomberg.com, "A Former Anonymous Hacker’s Search for Redemption," 6 Mar. 2018
The queen was wearing a two-piece navy blue suit accented with tiny white leaf designs, and a white hat accented with navy blue leaf designs.

— sandiegouniontribune.com, "Queen Elizabeth visits San Diego," 26 Feb. 2018
Upon arriving, guests take a test and receive a black or white hat.

— sarah rense, Esquire, "You Can Visit Westworld Thanks to an Immersive Pop-Up at SXSW," 23 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'white hat.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.