Parrot Security
Parrot Security develops Parrot OS, a Debian-based GNU/Linux distribution for penetration testing, red team operations, digital forensics, and privacy. It serves security professionals, students, and privacy-conscious users globally as free open-source software via a community-interest company.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersPalermo, Italy
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Parrot Security does
Parrot Security develops and maintains Parrot OS, a Debian-Stable-based GNU/Linux distribution designed for penetration testing, red team operations, digital forensics, and security research. Founded in 2013 by Lorenzo Faletra (Palinuro) in Palermo, Italy, and governed by Parrot Security CIC — a Community Interest Company registered in the UK — the project distributes its flagship Security Edition and additional variants (Home, HTB, Raspberry Pi, Community Spins, Docker, WSL, RISC-V) as 100% free and open-source software under the GPL. The platform packages 800+ curated security tools (Metasploit, Wireshark, Burp Suite, Nmap, Ghidra, Aircrack-ng, among others) with a hardened custom kernel, forensics-ready automount-disabled configuration, and AnonSurf (Nim-based Tor wrapper) for privacy operations.
The technology stack includes Parrot Optimized Builds (x86-64-v3 and ARMv8.2-A recompiled packages yielding 20-50% performance gains), MCPwn (a Model Context Protocol server enabling LLMs to execute security tools in isolated Docker containers), Mirror Director (Go-based geographic redirector), and Night Watch (metadata extraction pipeline). Distribution leverages a global mirror network spanning BunnyCDN, Alibaba Cloud, and 60+ academic/commercial mirrors, with official presences on Docker Hub, Vagrant Cloud, and major hypervisor formats (VirtualBox, VMware, QEMU/KVM, UTM). In December 2025, Parrot 7.0 became the first penetration testing distribution with native RISC-V support.
The business model is non-commercial by structure: the CIC entity receives revenue through donations (Patreon, PayPal, cryptocurrency), merchandise sales via hackthebox.store, and cloud-provider referral affiliates. The primary strategic sponsor is Hack The Box, whose SVP Operations and VP Content serve as Directors and Strategic Advisors on Parrot's board, and whose Pwnbox product delivers a browser-accessible Parrot environment to HTB's 4.3M+ learners. With 50M+ cumulative downloads, 95.5K+ community members, and 12+ years of continuous development, Parrot operates as a sustained community-interest project rather than a venture-backed commercial entity, with no disclosed funding rounds, acquisitions, or revenue figures.
Parrot Security firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Parrot Security
- Legal name
- Parrot Security CIC
- Website
- https://parrotsec.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Parrot Security develops Parrot OS, a Debian-based GNU/Linux distribution for penetration testing, red team operations, digital forensics, and privacy. It serves security professionals, students, and privacy-conscious users globally as free open-source software via a community-interest company.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Parrot Security industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Penetration Testing Operating System
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cloud Security for Containers & Kubernetes (KSPM/Kubernetes Security) (HDABAHAO)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Hybrid Cloud Security, Identity & Policy Enforcement (HDABAMAC), Identity Orchestration & Policy (Zero Trust Access, Conditional Access) (HDADAAAL)
Keywords
Where Parrot Security is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Palermo
- HQ country
- Italy
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Parrot Security business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Open Source Distribution (Free): Parrot OS is distributed free of charge as 100% free and open source software under the GPL license. No revenue is generated from software sales.
- Donations and Sponsorships: Project accepts financial support through Patreon, PayPal, cryptocurrency donations (BTC, XMR, ETH/ERC20, SOL, LTC, ZCASH, DOGE), and referral links from cloud providers. This is the primary non-monetary support model.
- Merchandise Store: Parrot Security Store sells custom swag (hoodies, t-shirts, stickers) for cybersecurity enthusiasts through hackthebox.store. While not a primary revenue stream, it contributes to project sustainability.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | All Editions - Free Download |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels13 records
Parrot Security product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Parrot Security develops and distributes Parrot OS, a Debian-based GNU/Linux distribution purpose-built for penetration testing, red team operations, digital forensics, reverse engineering, and privacy protection. The OS is delivered free of charge under the GPL license in multiple specialized editions (Security, Home, HTB, Raspberry Pi, Special, and Community Spins) with 800+ pre-installed security tools, AnonSurf Tor anonymity integration, custom hardened kernel, and AI-assisted capabilities via MCPwn.
Product overview
Parrot Security offers Parrot OS, a GNU/Linux distribution based on Debian Stable designed for cybersecurity operations. The product portfolio includes multiple OS editions (Security, Home, HTB, Raspberry Pi, Community Spins) with 800+ pre-installed security tools, Docker container images for cloud deployments, virtual machine images for major hypervisors (VirtualBox, VMware, UTM, QEMU/KVM), a web-based Pwnbox accessible via browser, and MCPwn for AI agent integration. The ecosystem also includes Parrot Tools (individual security tools), a dedicated package repository with global mirror network, and the Parrot Arsenal Explorer web catalog for browsing available tools.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Pwnbox: A completely browser-accessible virtual hacking distro including everything a hacker operating system should have, available through partnership with Hack The Box.
Products and services
- Parrot OS Security Edition The flagship penetration testing platform packed with over 800 security tools for penetration testing, digital forensics, reverse engineering, and security research. Designed for professional security practitioners conducting penetration testing and red team operations.
- Parrot OS Home Edition
Quantifiable outcome
- 20% to 50% performance gains on compute-heavy workloads (compression, encryption, hashing, media encoding) with optimized builds targeting modern CPU instruction sets
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Parrot Security
Customer profileSegments9 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Parrot Security technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration10 records
AI capability5 records
Feature9 records
Parrot Security partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Hack The BoxcoreHack The Box is an online platform providing training, tools, and community for cybersecurity professionals. It partners with Parrot Security as main sponsor and strategic advisor. HTB provides 4.3M+ learners access to Parrot-based environments, Parrot HTB Edition is pre-configured for HTB labs, and HTB's SVP Operations and VP Content serve as Directors and Strategic Advisors at Parrot Security.
- BunnyCDNcoreBunnyCDN is a private and fast content distribution network used to boost download speeds for the Parrot system. Bunny.net provides CDN services through bunny.deb.parrot.sh mirror with 10-80 Gbps bandwidth capacity.
- CaineminorOpen collaboration channel with Nanni Bassetti, developer of CAINE (GNU/Linux distribution focused on digital forensics). Friendly partnership where Parrot helps CAINE in its development and testing process, and CAINE helps Parrot with its digital forensics section.
- Zorin OSminorPartnership with Zorin OS team based on common goals for the future. The collaboration consists in a friendly partnership on some long-term plans of both projects.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Parrot Security competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Tsurugi Linux: Debian-based distribution for digital forensics, OSINT, and malware analysis. Overlaps with Parrot OS's forensics-ready configuration and security researcher target segment.
- ArchStrike: Arch Linux repository for security professionals providing an Arch-based alternative to Kali/Parrot with hundreds of penetration testing tools.
- BackBox: Ubuntu-based Linux distribution for penetration testing and security assessments. Directly comparable as a free, open-source security OS with a curated toolset for ethical hackers and security analysts.
- BlackArch: Arch Linux-based penetration testing distribution with a large curated tool repository. Comparable to Parrot OS as an open-source offensive security platform targeting professional pentesters and researchers.
- Pentoo: Gentoo-based security-focused Linux distribution with hardening and a curated pentesting toolset. Comparable niche positioning to Parrot in the alternative-OS security market.
- Bugtraq: Debian/Ubuntu-based distribution focused on penetration testing and digital forensics with multiple desktop environments. Comparable as a specialized security OS with multi-edition product strategy.
- Kali Linux: The dominant penetration testing distribution maintained by Offensive Security. Directly comparable to Parrot OS as a Debian-based security distribution pre-loaded with hundreds of offensive security tools.
Emerging players
- Network Security Toolkit (NST): Fedora-based live CD/DVD providing network security and monitoring tools. Comparable to Parrot OS as a free, open-source distribution specialized for security professionals and network administrators.
- CAINE: GNU/Linux distribution focused specifically on digital forensics. Comparable to Parrot OS's forensics-ready configuration and overlapping partnership (Parrot and CAINE maintain a mutual collaboration).
Broad incumbents
- Fedora Security Lab: Fedora Project's official security-focused spin providing a safe test environment for security auditing and forensics. Comparable as a community-backed security distribution within a broader general-purpose OS ecosystem.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Parrot Security social profiles
Digital presenceParrot Security financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Parrot Security leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Parrot Security funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Parrot Security 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 Parrot Security
What does Parrot Security do?
Parrot Security develops and distributes Parrot OS, a Debian-based GNU/Linux distribution purpose-built for penetration testing, red team operations, digital forensics, reverse engineering, and privacy protection. The OS is delivered free of charge under the GPL license in multiple specialized editions (Security, Home, HTB, Raspberry Pi, Special, and Community Spins) with 800+ pre-installed security tools, AnonSurf Tor anonymity integration, custom hardened kernel, and AI-assisted capabilities via MCPwn.
Is Parrot Security a public or private company?
Parrot Security is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Parrot Security founded?
Parrot Security was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Parrot Security based?
Parrot Security is headquartered in Palermo, Italy, in the Europe region.
How does Parrot Security make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Open Source Distribution (Free) is the primary driver. The others are donations and Sponsorships and merchandise Store.
Who are Parrot Security's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Tsurugi Linux, ArchStrike, BackBox, BlackArch, Pentoo, Bugtraq and Kali Linux. Emerging players are Network Security Toolkit (NST) and CAINE. Fedora Security Lab is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Parrot Security have an API?
No public API is recorded for Parrot Security.
What industry is Parrot Security in?
Parrot Security's product category is Penetration Testing Operating System. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABAHAO, Cloud Security for Containers & Kubernetes (KSPM/Kubernetes Security), with a secondary code of HDABAMAC, Hybrid Cloud Security, Identity & Policy Enforcement. Its NAICS code is 5415 and its SIC code is 7373.