Turris Omnia is a self-updating router for maximum user’s safety in IoT age

Today, the Internet is an important part of our lives and it is no longer true that we are connected to the Internet only when we are looking up something.

Prague, 27 November 2015 – The innovative project of the CZ.NIC non-profit association, the administrator of the Czech national domain, sparked avid interest. Safe and automatically updated, the Turris Omnia router has a performance like no other comparable device available on the market; the router raised more than 230,000 USD during the first 10 days at the crowdfunding platform at Indiegogo.com. You can buy the Turris Omnia router at an attractive campaign price only until mid-January 2016.

„Even if not many update their router, it turns out that the issues of privacy and security no longer leave the Internet users cold. That is probably why our automatically updated and effective router sparked so much interest as soon as we launched the campaign,“ says Ondřej Filip, the CEO of CZ.NIC.

Resolves security issues by itself

Today, the Internet is an important part of our lives and it is no longer true that we are connected to the Internet only when we are looking up something. Smart phones, tablets, TV sets, IP cameras and game consoles are constantly online, along with our user data and, as a matter of fact, our whole private live. However, the reach of so-called Internet of Things is much wider; the number of products that make our life easier thanks to constant connection to the Internet is growing every day.

Along with the growing number of such devices, also the number of microphones, cameras and other windows into our privacy is growing, let alone alarms and other features of smart homes. All the above can provide a hacker with access to our home as a whole and a router is actually the only thing standing between him and our home network. Users should take care of administration and security of their router, but they seldom do.

„People often invest great sums in intelligent electronic devices. Still, they leave unnoticed the input node, which connects them to the Internet and serves as a gate for potential hackers at the same time. A typical cheap router is equipped with software developed several years back and, in many cases, it never gets updated,“ says Ondřej Filip. „One more interesting point: years can elapse from the time when a router leaves the plant production line to the time when the customer connects it at home. It is clear that at that time, the router is no longer able to address any current security risk.“

Unlike any other device on the market, the Turris Omnia router is different and takes care of the security by itself, instead of its user. At any time when a security risk is detected, the router ensures that the risk does not threaten the user, all this thanks to a unique system of updates.

More than a router

In addition to a high level of security, Turris Omnia also offers much broader opportunities in terms of its high performance and accessories, e.g. an SFP connector for direct connection of an optical module. The feature of network-attached storage enables swift sharing of media or backing up of precious data. The SIM card slot enables connection of an LTE modem and a backup for an internet connection using mobile networks. Turris Omnia, which will be manufactured in the EU, is so versatile that, in combination with an USB DVB-Tuner, it can serve, for example, for distribution of TV broadcasting to mobile telephones and computers. Thanks to the constantly growing amount of funds obtained in the campaign, the options are further increasing and Turris Omnia will be able to replace an ever increasing number of single-purpose devices.

Ready for the future

Similar to mobile telephones and computers, network technologies are also constantly developing. However, not many of us are prepared to buy a new router and re-configure the entire network when the time comes for equipment with higher performance. Turris Omnia already has more than enough performance and, thanks to the user-friendly set of mini-PCIe slots for installation of WiFi cards, it will not be necessary to replace the router every time when new WiFi standards are established. The user will then simply buy an extension card, connect it to the device and will thus be able to use new state-of-the-art technologies available on the market.

More information can be found at https://omnia.turris.cz. You can read about the Turris project, from which Turris Omnia comes, at https://www.turris.cz/.