Never Brick a Device Again: Secure Over-the-Air Updates Made Easy with Thistle Technologies

Secure over-the-air updates are the lifeblood of long-lasting embedded systems—especially those installed out in the wild. At Hardware Pioneers Max 2025, we caught up with Russell from Thistle Technologies to find out how their platform is making device management safer, easier, and totally stress-free.

Why Secure Over-the-Air Updates Matter

Pushing firmware updates to microcontrollers and processors deployed in the field—especially in hard-to-reach places like oil rigs or industrial sites—comes with risk. If something goes wrong, you might have to send a technician, or worse, permanently retire the device.

Thistle Technologies solves this with a robust A/B update mechanism: if an update fails, your device automatically rolls back to the last stable state. Combined with their secure boot feature, you get the full package—signed firmware updates, tamper detection, and peace of mind.

Protecting Devices from Bricks and Bad Actors

Beyond just preventing bricked devices, Thistle’s OTA system includes secure boot with alerts for physical or firmware tampering. If the device detects tampering, it simply won’t boot—letting you act fast with real-time alerts.

This kind of resilience is no longer a nice-to-have—it’s becoming table stakes, especially with new regulations like the EU’s Cyber Resilience Act (CRA). Luckily, Thistle’s integration with Infineon’s Optiga Trust-M hardware security module makes CRA compliance straightforward.

Secure OTA in Minutes, Not Months

Why roll your own OTA platform when Thistle lets you get started in minutes? According to Russell, implementing OTA in-house can take 12 to 18 months—Thistle cuts this down to mere minutes with precompiled binaries and a simple config file.

Whether you’re working with Linux or MCUs, Thistle offers a “drop-and-go” update client. Just push the binary, configure a token, and boom—you’re ready to deploy updates.

Try It Free, Scale When You’re Ready

Thistle’s pricing is as streamlined as their technology. It’s free to sign up, free to connect devices, and free to get started. You only pay when you scale—making it ideal for startups and teams in early development.

With a drag-and-drop deployment model, secure OTA updates don’t have to be intimidating. As Russell puts it: “You can be confident your device is resilient without having to cobble together a solution.”

For engineers looking to secure their fleets without blowing their timeline (or budget), Thistle Technologies is offering a plug-and-play path forward.