Introducing the Next-Generation Secure Communication Solution: TinyChannels

Introducing TinyChannels: Next-Generation Secure Communication

On April 28, 2026, Shimousa Systems Co., Ltd. officially launched its next-generation secure communication solution, TinyChannels. This service offers new options for secure interconnections between companies and locations by employing WebTransport and a Zero Trust architecture with end-to-end encrypted communications.

Aim and Background of the Solution

In recent years, the integration of SaaS and on-premise systems, connections to overseas branches, and remote access for operators have been rapidly increasing, creating a growing need for secure application communications that cross organizational boundaries. Traditional VPNs, designed under the assumption of trusting the entire network, struggle to meet the recent Zero Trust requirements. Moreover, there are inherent challenges in configurations that involve vendor-operated relay servers, as the plaintext of the traffic can be exposed to the relay node operators.

To address these issues, Shimousa Systems developed TinyChannels. This solution permits communication authorization on a per-channel basis, rather than at the network level. By providing end-to-end encryption that is completed between endpoints, TinyChannels ensures that relay nodes can route encrypted communications without ever having the ability to decrypt them. As a result, even when Edge components are placed in external cloud or third-party environments, the confidentiality of the data remains intact.

Service Overview

TinyChannels is composed of three main components:

- End: A lightweight module that serves as the communication endpoint. It operates on hosts where applications run, handling encryption and decryption of communication while managing authorized channel communications. It supports Windows, macOS, and Linux (note: Windows and Linux do not support ARM architecture).
- Edge: A public relay that facilitates communication between multiple End components. It is compliant with WebTransport (QUIC over UDP), offering low-latency and firewall-friendly routing. Importantly, it does not have the capability to decrypt the payloads it relays, thereby structurally maintaining the assumptions of end-to-end encryption.
- Center: The management infrastructure that consolidates the Certificate Authority (CA), authorization manager, logging infrastructure (Quickwit), and operational portal. Customers can install this infrastructure in their own on-premise environment or any cloud of their choice, placing all trust anchors under their control, without dependency on vendor clouds for data.

Key Features

- Access to an authorization manager based on Zero Trust architecture.
- Mutual authentication based on X.509 certificates (mTLS), implemented between both End-Edge and End-End.
- Low-latency communication and NAT traversal supported by WebTransport/QUIC.
- End-to-end encryption design ensuring that relay nodes cannot decrypt payloads.
- All authorization decisions, channel openings/closings, and certificate issuances are logged in a central logging infrastructure, accessible through a portal for search.
- Compatibility with Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Subscription Pricing for Software Usage

To help customers consider initial deployment, TinyChannels offers a free evaluation plan allowing usage of up to five End components. For full-scale implementation, subscription-based licenses based on the number of needed channels (End count) are available. For detailed price plans, please refer to the [pricing plan details URL].

Future Developments

Shimousa Systems aims to evolve TinyChannels into a standard communication infrastructure for the Zero Trust era through several initiatives, including:

- Expanding detailed authorization policy management functions by group/user units.
- Developing an End module for JavaScript on web browsers (via WASM).
- Enhancing reporting capabilities to meet audit and compliance requirements.

Through these efforts, we aspire to provide our customers with an infrastructure that enables secure cross-boundary communications with ease and minimal operational burden.

For inquiries regarding this announcement, please contact:
Shimousa Systems Co., Ltd.
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: https://www.shimousa.com