Gray hat hackers are similar to white hats but often conduct vulnerability research on their own, and then disclose these vulnerabilities to force vendors to remediate the issue by issuing a software patch. Their skills typically have a heavier emphasis on vulnerability research tactics, such as fuzzing, debugging, and reverse engineering.

At times, being a gray hat can be difficult as the balance and definition of ethical and unethical actions keep changing. Despite the difficult place that they occupy in the community, they share valuable information about security flaws, and are therefore important members of the cybersecurity community.

The next type of hacker uses unethical means to break into systems but does not do so for personal profit like a black hat—this type of hacker is the suicide hacker.