Which type of hackers typically break into a company's network without legal affiliation but risk legal consequences?

Gray hats are individuals who operate in a gray area between ethical and unethical hacking. They may find vulnerabilities within a company's network and exploit them without permission, but they do so without malicious intent. Often, they reveal the vulnerabilities to the organization afterward, sometimes even requesting payment for their findings, which means they do not have legal affiliation with the company.

This behavior puts them at risk of legal consequences because they are accessing systems without authorization, which is considered illegal under various laws, including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in the United States. Their actions are not strictly malicious like those of black hat hackers, who actively seek to inflict damage or steal information for personal gain, but they nonetheless operate outside the bounds of what is legally acceptable.

The other categories of hackers mentioned differ fundamentally in their intentions and methods. Elite hackers are often highly skilled individuals, typically champions of the hacking community, who may work on ethical hacking projects. Black hats are clearly defined as malicious hackers, actively working to harm systems and networks for personal gain. Blue hats, on the other hand, generally refer to individuals who are invited to test the security of a system, usually in a legal capacity, similar to white hats. Thus, gray hats represent a unique class of hackers who exist in