AV Trust Aims to Strengthen Cybersecurity in Commercial AV

https://www.securitysales.com/news/av-trust-strengthen-cybersecurity-commercial-av/617115/

Publish Date: 2026-02-23 14:08:00

WESTFIELD, Ind. — Non-profit organization AV Trust is “on a mission to enhance cybersecurity in the commercial AV and unified communications (UC) industries,” according to a recent announcement about the organization’s launch.

Founded by president Douglas Schaefer, vice president and treasurer Colin Birney and secretary Frank Padikkala, AV Trust “aims to address the growing need for security in AV systems by focusing on education, research and the development of security standards,” the announcement says.

AV Trust: A Trusted Resource for AV Security

AV Trust serves as an independent resource for identifying, cataloging and communicating security vulnerabilities in AV and UC systems. The organization is “dedicated to advancing cybersecurity practices by promoting vulnerability disclosure frameworks and security standards that have long been used in traditional IT environments,” according to the AV Trust announcement.

“The AV industry has evolved to embrace more connected architectures, but our security practices haven’t kept pace,” says Schaefer in the announcement. “We created AV Trust to bring the same security frameworks to AV that have protected IT for decades. Our goal is to make AV systems safer and more consistent for organizations worldwide.”

Opportunities to Get Involved

AV Trust is actively seeking council members from the cybersecurity and AV communities to contribute in the following areas:

Secretariat Council: Focused on coordinating vulnerability disclosure and communication activities.
Standards Council: Dedicated to evaluating and creating cybersecurity standards for AV systems.
Education & Events Council: Responsible for developing educational resources and managing events.

Additionally, AV Trust is calling on companies in the AV industry to provide financial support. Contributions will fund the organization’s operations, security-related events, standards development, and research…

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