A grey hat hacker is a computer hacker or computer security expert who may sometimes violate laws or typical ethical standards, but usually does not have the malicious intent typical of a black hat hacker. The term "grey hat" was derived from the concepts of "white hat" and "black hat" hackers. Grey hat hackers represent the middle ground between white hat hackers, who work for the benefit of those maintaining secure systems, and black hat hackers, who act maliciously to exploit vulnerabilities in systems. Grey hat hackers may sometimes violate laws or usual ethical standards, but they do not have the malicious intent typical of a black hat hacker. When a white hat hacker discovers a vulnerability, they will exploit it only with permission and not tell others about it until it has been fixed. In contrast, the black hat will illegally exploit it or tell others how to do so. The grey hat will neither illegally exploit it nor tell others how to do so. Grey hat hackers often look for vulnerabilities in a system without the owners permission or knowledge. If issues are found, they report them to the owner, sometimes requesting a small fee to fix the problem. Grey hat hackers may also abuse ethical standards or laws, but without the malicious intent attributed to black hat hackers.