Your Firmware Walked Into A Bar And Forgot Its Keys – with Window Snyder CEO of Thistle Technologies
Your device can’t protect what it can’t verify. We sit down with Window Snyder, founder and CEO of Thistle Technologies, to unpack a practical path to resilient security for edge devices and AI workloads. From secure boot to signed updates and hardware-backed trust, Window explains how to turn security from a bespoke slog into a dependable product feature that ships with confidence.
We trace the origin of Thistle through Window’s leadership at Apple, Microsoft, Intel, Mozilla, Square, and Fastly, and why device security lagged behind desktops and phones. The solution: a platform that integrates with silicon vendors and system-on-modules so developers can flip on verified boot and managed updates out of the box. That same chain of trust now extends to AI models at the edge—ensuring secure delivery, authenticity checks before deployment, encryption at rest, and ongoing integrity so your most valuable IP stays protected.
Regulation meets reality as the EU Cyber Resilience Act sets a clear deadline. Window outlines how CRA-readiness is accelerating adoption and why once OEMs build for Europe, those capabilities will ship everywhere. We also explore partner ecosystems, including work with Infineon and secure elements, and how Thistle acts as the glue between silicon, SOMs, and device makers. Along the way, Window shares how staying close to security research through Black Hat’s review board helps anticipate threats and harden the platform.
If you’re responsible for industrial systems, medical devices, payments hardware, or any edge deployment running AI, this conversation offers a blueprint: make security default, verify everything from firmware to models, and reduce months of integration into days. Ready to try it yourself? Start free with up to 10 devices at thistle.tech, then tell us what you’re building. Subscribe, share with your team, and leave a review to help more builders ship secure devices faster.
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