Why Are ‘Black Hat’ and ‘White Hat’ Terms Under Fire in Cybersecurity?

The "Discrimination" Debate Over Black and White Terminology

A Twitter user quoted a comment after Google VP David Kleidermacher announced his withdrawal from Black Hat USA 2020, urging the security community to adopt more neutral terms such as replacing "black hat" and "white hat" with less charged language.

Kleidermacher argues that terms like "black" and "white" can evoke racial bias, and that "man" in "man‑in‑the‑middle" suggests gender bias, proposing alternatives like "people".

The proposal sparked heated reactions, with many community members rejecting the idea.

Historically, "black hat" and "white hat" stem from Western films where heroes wore white hats and villains black hats, later adopted in cybersecurity to distinguish ethical hackers from malicious ones.

Some argue the colors refer to hat colors, not skin tones, but the debate has intensified amid broader social movements.

Ripple Effects After the Floyd Protests

Following the George Floyd protests, discussions of discrimination became highly sensitive, leading to broader scrutiny of language across industries.

Examples include the UK National Cyber Security Centre replacing "blacklist" and "whitelist" with "deny list" and "allow list," and Chromium’s style guide urging neutral terms like "blocklist" and "allowlist."

GitHub also moved to replace terms such as "master" and "slave" with more inclusive alternatives.

Who Pays the Price for These Changes?

Organizations are updating terminology not only for political correctness but also to reflect evolving cultural contexts, though some view these changes as superficial compromises.

If I were you, I would apologize for what I said, be more inclusive, and strive to become a better manager.

We should not waste energy on meaningless issues; focus on more substantive topics.