A black hat hacker is a computer hacker who violates laws or typical ethical standards for nefarious purposes, such as cybercrime, cyberwarfare, or malice). The term originates from 1950s westerns, where bad guys typically wore black hats and good guys wore white hats). Black hat hackers can be novices or experienced criminals, and they are usually knowledgeable about infiltrating computer networks and getting around security protocols). They create malware, a form of software that lets them access computer networks, monitor their victims online activities, or lock their victims devices). Black hat hackers can be involved in cyber espionage or protest, in addition to pursuing personal or financial gain). They are motivated by self-serving reasons, such as financial gain, revenge, or simply to spread havoc. Black hat hackers often start as novice "script kiddies" using purchased hacker tools to exploit security lapses. The upper echelon of black hats tends to be skilled hackers who work for sophisticated criminal organizations that sometimes provide collaboration tools for their workers and offer service agreements to customers, just like legitimate businesses.