ethical hacker

[ eth-i-kuhl hak-er ]

noun

, Digital Technology.

1. a hacker who violates the security of a system usually with the knowledge and consent of the owner or developer, in order to test the code, without malicious intent.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ethical hacker¹

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

State Sen. Loren Lippincott presented a bill Thursday to the Legislature’s government committee that would give the Nebraska State Patrol $200,000 to hire “an ethical hacker.”

From Seattle Times

“This idea is that an ethical hacker can find vulnerabilities that can be fixed before they can be exploited by bad actors,” Lippincott said.

From Seattle Times

"The CIA really dropped the ball here," the ethical hacker said.

From BBC

Zatko, 51, first gained prominence in the 1990s as an ethical hacker and later worked in senior positions at an elite Defense Department research unit and at Google.

From Seattle Times

Rachel Tobac, an ethical hacker and CEO of SocialProof Security, offered a hypothetical example of how the feature could go awry.

From Washington Post