Who are the hackers that operate with the permission of the company during their testing?

The correct choice refers to blue hats, who are typically individuals invited by a company to perform penetration testing or vulnerability assessments on their systems. These individuals engage in ethical hacking with the explicit permission of the organization, focusing on identifying and fixing security vulnerabilities before malicious hackers can exploit them.

Blue hats are often external partners or consultants who possess the technical knowledge and skills to conduct thorough security analyses. Their work is essential for enhancing the security posture of the company, allowing it to better protect sensitive data and maintain regulatory compliance.

Other types of hackers do not operate under these specified conditions. For example, elite hackers may refer to highly skilled individuals but do not inherently operate with company authorization. Gray hats operate in a more ambiguous ethical space, sometimes exploiting vulnerabilities without permission yet intending to reveal these issues responsibly. Script kiddies are typically less skilled individuals who use existing tools to launch attacks without a deep understanding of how the tools work or the rules governing ethical hacking practices.