From time to time, it’s a good idea to take some time to reflect. Especially, as Tillitis’ first full operating year is approaching the end, it’s an ideal opportunity to take a seat, enjoy a cup of coffee, and consider everything that has transpired throughout this intensive year. The thing is, despite the fact that it may seem like progress is moving slowly, one is often surprised by how much has been achieved.

We entered 2023, after we said hello to the world in September 2022, with full speed on product development and the goal to release TKey in March.

People showed interested in our technology and we got the possibility to present at SamNet 2023 Conference and Netnod Meeting 2023. MC, from our tech team, went to the conferences and presented TKey and our technology.

Eventually we released TKey and opened our web shop in April. Still in April, we got tough feedback. We thought we were clear in our communication, but apparently not clear enough. Our intention was always to have two versions of TKey and the first version we released in April was the so-called end-user version, where we at Tillitis provision the TKey. We released TKey Unlocked, and accompanying TKey Programmer Board in September. With TKey Unlocked the user can provision the TKey themselves (hence the Programmer Board) and effectively gets a fully, user owned USB Security Key.
Well, no matter how clear you think you are in your communication, there is always risk of misunderstanding. We will continue to improve our communication.

Back to spring time. In May we started collaboration with a number of resellers in Europe and US. Main point being to offer different and simplified shipping options to our customers.

In October, we traveled to Sunnyvale and the 2023 OSFC conference. This was special for us, since we first revealed Tillitis and the TKey at the 2022 OSFC conference in Gothenburg. This year we sponsored the event and held both a talk and a workshop.

In November, we launched our Bug Bounty program and to highlight the fact, we sponsored Advent of Code 2023. Given that many programmers are engaging in Advent of Code and that programmers enjoy solving puzzles, we believe that some people may be curious about TKey’s internal workings and would like to meticulously examine the design.

Late in the year, we released an improved plastic case design, with injection moulded plastic case and updated the product packaging with a security label.

But without applications that run on it, what would the TKey be? Throughout the year we published a number of TKey applications, including TKey Random Number Generator, TKey SSH Agent, TKey Signature Tool, and TKey Verification.

Thus, considering the past year 2023, what lessons have we learned? Among other things, TKey is an advanced product, essentially a small computer. It has numerous possible applications. It is a bit sharp on the edges, so early adopters are experienced developers, DevOps, and similar professionals. In order to appeal to a wider audience, we need to make TKey more user-friendly. More on that in 2024.

Be Safe,
Tillitis