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

One popular approach is to use “red teams” of ethical hackers who attempt to find vulnerabilities in systems so that the designer can patch them before they’re released.

From Singularity Hub 

We’re trying to pay ethical hackers to break into our systems to tell us where bad guys, real bad guys might actually find ways to explode our systems.

From MIT Technology Review