Openwall
Openwall is a privately held, founder-led cybersecurity software company that develops open-source and commercial password security tools (notably John the Ripper) and the Linux Kernel Runtime Guard (LKRG), serving security professionals, Linux administrators, and enterprise IT teams worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2001
- HeadquartersBedford, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Openwall does
Openwall is a privately held cybersecurity software company founded around 1999–2001 and based in Bedford, United States, operating with a 1–10 person team led by founder Alexander Peslyak (Solar Designer). The company develops open-source and commercial security software focused on two primary domains: password security and Linux kernel runtime integrity. Its flagship product, John the Ripper, is a fast multi-platform password cracker supporting hundreds of hash and cipher types, available in free open-source and Pro commercial editions for Linux and macOS. Its second pillar, Linux Kernel Runtime Guard (LKRG), is a loadable kernel module that performs runtime integrity checking and exploit detection on x86-64, x86, ARM64, and ARM Linux kernels from RHEL7 through mainline 7.x. The portfolio is rounded out by cryptographic primitives (yescrypt, yespower, crypt_blowfish/bcrypt, phpass), password policy enforcement (passwdqc), a security-enhanced Linux distribution (Openwall GNU/*/Linux / Owl), and a collection of Unix security utilities (scanlogd, popa3d, blists, msulogin, php_mt_seed).
The company's business model rests on a community-led go-to-market built around open-source distribution through GitHub, mailing lists (john-users, lkrg-users, announce), a community wiki, conference presentations, and packaging in major Linux distributions (Debian, Fedora, Gentoo, SUSE, FreeBSD/NetBSD/OpenBSD, Ubuntu Snap). Monetization is layered on top: perpetual John the Ripper Pro licenses sold via FastSpring ($39.95–$185 tiers with support options), a usage-based and annual-priced AWS Marketplace bundle (Openwall Password Recovery and Password Security Auditing Bundle) for cloud-based password recovery and auditing, and professional services for integrating yescrypt/crypt_blowfish/passwdqc into customer systems. Customer segments span security professionals and penetration testers, Linux server administrators, enterprise IT security teams, and cloud infrastructure users. The company has no external venture or institutional investment disclosed and remains bootstrapped on commercial revenue.
Openwall firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Openwall
- Legal name
- Openwall
- Website
- https://openwall.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2001
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Openwall is a privately held, founder-led cybersecurity software company that develops open-source and commercial password security tools (notably John the Ripper) and the Linux Kernel Runtime Guard (LKRG), serving security professionals, Linux administrators, and enterprise IT teams worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Openwall industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cybersecurity Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Credential Stuffing & Password Attack Protection (HDADALAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Key Management, Encryption & Secrets Management (KMS/HSM/Vault) (HDABAHAG), Confidential Computing & Hardware-backed Protection (TEE/HSM) (HDADAFAJ)
Keywords
Where Openwall is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bedford
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Openwall business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- John the Ripper Pro Licenses: Commercial licenses for John the Ripper Pro for Linux (starting at $39.95 introductory, $89.95 with upgrades, $185.00 with full support) and macOS. Includes pre-built native packages, automatic multi-core/GPU detection, multilingual wordlists, and documentation. Provides free upgrades to further 1.x Pro releases and email support.
- AWS Cloud Bundle (Password Recovery): Hourly and annual pricing for the Openwall Password Recovery and Password Security Auditing Bundle on AWS Marketplace. Supports organizations using their software while contributing to the open-source project. GPU and CPU-optimized instance recommendations provided.
- Professional Services: Professional services for integration of modern password hashing (yescrypt, crypt_blowfish) and password strength checking (passwdqc) into OS installs, software, or online services.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | John the Ripper 1.8.0 Pro for Linux with upgrades and support |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | John the Ripper 1.8.0 Pro for Linux with upgrades |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | John the Ripper 1.8.0 Pro for Linux introductory offer |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Openwall Password Recovery Bundle - hourly pricing |
| Subscription | Annual | Openwall Password Recovery Bundle - annual pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels6 records
Openwall product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Openwall develops and distributes open-source and commercial security software focused on password security and Linux kernel runtime integrity. Its core offerings include John the Ripper (a fast password cracker supporting hundreds of hash and cipher types across Linux, macOS, Windows, and cloud), Linux Kernel Runtime Guard (LKRG, a kernel module for runtime integrity checking and exploit detection), and supporting tools like passwdqc, yescrypt, crypt_blowfish, and phpass for password policy enforcement and secure password storage. Commercial revenue is generated through John the Ripper Pro licenses, AWS Marketplace cloud bundles, and professional services for integration of password hashing and policy enforcement into systems and applications.
Product overview
Openwall is an open-source security software company offering a portfolio of password security, kernel integrity, and cryptographic tools. The core products include John the Ripper (a widely-used password cracker supporting hundreds of hash types), Linux Kernel Runtime Guard/LKRG (a kernel module for runtime integrity checking and exploit detection), and Openwall GNU/*/Linux (a security-enhanced server OS). These are complemented by cryptographic libraries (yescrypt, crypt_blowfish, phpass for password hashing), policy enforcement tools (passwdqc), and utilities (scanlogd, popa3d, blists). Commercial offerings include John the Ripper Pro for Linux/macOS and cloud-based password recovery services via AWS Marketplace.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- John the Ripper: A fast password cracker available for many operating systems, available in free/open source and Pro commercial versions. Supports hundreds of hash and cipher types.
- Linux Kernel Runtime Guard (LKRG)
- Openwall GNU/*/Linux
- passwdqc
- yescrypt
- Hash Suite
Products and services
- John the Ripper (Free/Open Source) A fast password cracker available for Linux, macOS, Windows, and other Unix-like systems, supporting hundreds of hash and cipher types including Unix passwords, Windows hashes, web app and database formats, network authentication, encrypted keys, filesystems, archives, and documents. Distributed as free and open source under the project's standard license.
- John the Ripper Pro Commercial edition of John the Ripper for Linux (and macOS), shipped as pre-built native RPM packages with automatic detection and use of multi-core CPUs, available SIMD extensions (AVX-512, AVX2, AVX), and OpenCL-compatible GPUs. Includes pre-built wordlists and documentation, with pricing tiers from $39.95 (introductory) to $185.00 (with full support including free upgrades to further 1.x Pro releases and up to 2 hours of email support per year). Site-wide or consultant license options available.
- John the Ripper in the cloud (AWS Marketplace Bundle) Pre-configured Amazon Machine Image (AMI) listed on AWS Marketplace that bundles John the Ripper jumbo with multi-GPU support (NVIDIA Tesla V100/T4 via OpenCL) and multi-CPU support (AVX-512/AVX2/AVX) for password recovery and password security auditing. Available with hourly pay-as-you-go pricing or annual pricing, and supports AWS spot instances for additional cost savings. Updated in March 2023 with the latest JtR jumbo on Amazon Linux 2 with a newer NVIDIA GPU driver and broader instance type support.
- Linux Kernel Runtime Guard (LKRG) A loadable kernel module performing runtime integrity checking of the Linux kernel and detection of security vulnerability exploits. Supports x86-64, 32-bit x86, AArch64 (ARM64), and 32-bit ARM architectures. Provides pCFI (poor man's Control Flow Integrity) and, from version 1.0.0, forward-edge CFI (Intel CET IBT, KCFI). Designed for systems that cannot be promptly rebooted when new kernel vulnerabilities are disclosed.
- Openwall GNU/*/Linux (Owl) Security-enhanced Linux distribution designed for server deployments, providing a hardened operating system environment based on GNU/*/Linux (with BSD-derived components).
- passwdqc Proactive password and passphrase strength checking and policy enforcement toolset for servers, available as Free/Open Source for Unix systems and as a Pro version for Windows Active Directory. Ships pre-generated leaked password filter files that encode 847+ million unique passwords from billions of accounts (HIBP v8) in a 3.3 GiB filter file.
- yescrypt Modern password-based key derivation function (KDF) and password hashing scheme, included in Fedora and ALT Linux via libxcrypt, with a pure-Go reimplementation also available.
- yespower Proof-of-Work (PoW) scheme for cryptocurrency and blockchain applications.
- crypt_blowfish Bcrypt password hashing implementation for C/C++ programs and servers, providing secure password storage capabilities.
- phpass Portable public domain password hashing framework for PHP applications enabling secure password storage.
- tcb Alternative password shadowing scheme for Unix systems, providing enhanced security for password storage.
- Wordlists Collection of wordlists intended for use with password crackers such as John the Ripper and other password recovery utilities, including common passwords, human language wordlists, mangled variations, and combined unique word files.
- scanlogd Port scan detection tool for identifying and logging network port scanning activities against the host.
- popa3d Tiny POP3 daemon designed with security as a primary consideration.
- blists Web interface to mailing list archives that operates from indexed mbox files.
- msulogin Single user mode login program providing secure system access for administrative recovery.
- php_mt_seed PHP mt_rand() seed cracker for identifying weaknesses in PHP's random number generation.
Quantifiable outcome
- LKRG detected 8 out of 9 kernel rootkits tested in academic research (Juho Junnila Master's Thesis)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Openwall
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Openwall technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature5 records
Openwall partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Openwall competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Kali Linux (Offensive Security): Security-focused Linux distribution bundling penetration testing, password auditing, and kernel assessment tools. Ships John the Ripper and competes in the same security-prosumer workflow that Openwall targets.
- Hashcat: Open-source password recovery and auditing tool focused on GPU-accelerated hash cracking. Direct competitor to John the Ripper across the same security researcher and penetration tester user base.
Broad incumbents
- HashiCorp Vault: Secrets management and encryption/key management platform. Competes in the same broad credential and secrets security category as Openwall's yescrypt/crypt_blowfish ecosystem.
- 1Password: Commercial password management and secrets platform. Adjacent to Openwall's password hashing/KDF and policy enforcement offerings, targeting a different (consumer/enterprise vault) layer of the same stack.
- CrowdStrike: Endpoint and cloud workload protection platform with runtime kernel-level exploit detection capabilities. Competes at the enterprise layer with LKRG's Linux runtime integrity checking problem.
- Trellix (formerly McAfee): Broad cybersecurity vendor offering endpoint protection, data loss prevention, and server hardening. Provides incumbent alternatives to Openwall's Linux runtime and password hashing products at enterprise scale.
Emerging players
- Bitwarden: Open-source password manager with commercial offerings, emphasizing strong password hygiene and breached-password checks. Overlaps with Openwall's passwdqc password policy mission in adjacent product categories.
- Sysdig: Cloud security platform offering runtime threat detection and Linux kernel-level monitoring. Competes in the runtime exploit detection category that LKRG addresses.
- Aqua Security: Cloud-native workload protection platform with runtime kernel integrity checks for containers and Linux hosts. Targets LKRG's runtime defense use case at enterprise scale.
Others
- Have I Been Pwned (HIBP): Breach data service whose compromised credential corpus powers Openwall's passwdqc filter files. Foundational data dependency and ecosystem partner rather than direct competitor.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Openwall social profiles
Digital presenceOpenwall financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Openwall leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Openwall funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Openwall M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Openwall
What does Openwall do?
Openwall develops and distributes open-source and commercial security software focused on password security and Linux kernel runtime integrity. Its core offerings include John the Ripper (a fast password cracker supporting hundreds of hash and cipher types across Linux, macOS, Windows, and cloud), Linux Kernel Runtime Guard (LKRG, a kernel module for runtime integrity checking and exploit detection), and supporting tools like passwdqc, yescrypt, crypt_blowfish, and phpass for password policy enforcement and secure password storage. Commercial revenue is generated through John the Ripper Pro licenses, AWS Marketplace cloud bundles, and professional services for integration of password hashing and policy enforcement into systems and applications.
Is Openwall a public or private company?
Openwall is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Openwall founded?
Openwall was founded in 2001. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Openwall based?
Openwall is headquartered in Bedford, United States, in the North America region.
How does Openwall make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. John the Ripper Pro Licenses are the primary driver. The others are AWS Cloud Bundle (Password Recovery) and professional Services.
Who are Openwall's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Kali Linux (Offensive Security) and Hashcat. Broad incumbents are HashiCorp Vault, 1Password, CrowdStrike and Trellix (formerly McAfee). Emerging players are Bitwarden, Sysdig and Aqua Security. Have I Been Pwned (HIBP) is listed as an others.
Does Openwall have an API?
No public API is recorded for Openwall.
What industry is Openwall in?
Openwall's product category is Cybersecurity Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDADALAC, Credential Stuffing & Password Attack Protection, with a secondary code of HDABAHAG, Key Management, Encryption & Secrets Management (KMS/HSM/Vault). Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.