1. [common among security specialists] A {cracker}, someone bent on
breaking into the system you are protecting. Oppose the less comon
white hat for an ally or friendly security specialist; the term gray
hat is in occasional use for people with cracker skills operating
within the law, e.g. in doing security evaluations. All three terms
derive from the dress code of formulaic Westerns, in which bad guys
wore black hats and good guys white ones.
2. [spamfighters] `Black hat', `white hat', and `gray hat' are also
used to denote the spam-friendliness of ISPs: a black hat ISP harbors
spammers and doesn't terminate them; a white hat ISP terminates upon
the first LART; and gray hat ISPs terminate only reluctantly and/or
slowly. This has led to the concept of a hat check: someone
considering a potential business relationship with an ISP or other
provider will post a query to a {NANA} group, asking about the
provider's hat color. The term albedo has also been used to describe
a provider's spam-friendliness.
[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {gray hat}{white hat}]