Generally, people use references to “Hat Colors” as a way to identify different types of hackers, these are  divided into five main types. A few of these terms have been replaced to reflect cultural changes.

• Gray Hat Ethical Hackers: They fall somewhere between ethical hackers and threat actors. While their motives may be similar to those two groups, gray hats are more likely than ethical hackers to access systems without authorization; at the same time, they are more likely than threat actors to avoid doing unnecessary damage to the systems they hack. Although they aren’t typically motivated by money, gray hat hackers may offer to fix vulnerabilities they have discovered through their own unauthorized activities rather than using their knowledge to exploit vulnerabilities for illegal profit.
• Ethical hackers or Authorized Ethical Hackers: These guys used to be known as “white hat hackers”. Ethical Hackers like this strive to operate in the public’s best interest rather than for illegal purposes. Many ethical hackers who work doing pen testing are hired to attempt to break into the company’s networks to find and report on security vulnerabilities. The security firms then help their customers mitigate security issues before criminal hackers can exploit them.
• Unauthorized Ethical Hackers: They are also known as “Black Hat Ethical Hackers”. These guys intentionally gain unauthorized access to networks and systems with malicious intent. Their reasons may include stealing data, spreading malware or profiting from ransomware, vandalizing or otherwise damaging systems, often in an attempt to gain notoriety. Threat actors are criminals by definition because they violate laws against accessing systems without authorization, but they may also engage in other illegal activity, including corporate espionage, identity theft and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
• Red Hat Ethical Hackers: Also called “eagle-eyed” or “vigilante hackers”, are similar to ethical hackers. Red hat hackers intend to stop unethical attacks by threat actors. While red hat hackers may have a similar intent to ethical hackers, they differ in methodology, as red hat hackers may use illegal or extreme courses of action. Often, red hat hackers will deploy cyber attacks toward the systems of threat actors.
• Blue Hat Ethical Hackers:  also known as “vengeful hackers”, use hacking as a social weapon. Frequently, it is used as a means for revenge against a person, employer or other organization. Ethical Hackers who post personal and confidential data online to ruin reputations or attempt to gain unauthorized access to email and social media accounts are classified as blue hats.
• Script Kiddies: Guys under this category are amateur inexperienced hackers who attempt to use pre-written scripts in their hacking efforts. Often, these are fledgling hacking enthusiasts who cause little damage.
• Hacktivists: These are organizations of hackers that use cyber attacks to affect politically motivated change. The purpose is to bring public attention to something the hacktivist believes might be a violation of ethics or human rights. Hacktivism attacks may attempt to reveal evidence of wrongdoing by publicizing private communications, images or information.