AV Trust Launches as Non-Profit Security Organization for the Commercial Audio-Visual Industry

AV Trust has officially launched as a new non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening cybersecurity across the commercial AV and unified communications industry. Founded by Douglas Schaefer, Colin Birney, and Frank Padikkala, the organization aims to bring structured vulnerability disclosure processes, security standards frameworks, and education initiatives to a sector that has become increasingly network-connected but often lacks mature security practices. AV Trust will operate as an independent resource to identify, catalog, and communicate security risks and best practices for AV systems.

The organization is currently inviting cybersecurity and AV professionals to join its Secretariat, Standards, and Education & Events Councils. It is also seeking financial support from AV companies to fund research, standards development, and security-focused events. By aligning AV security practices more closely with established IT frameworks, AV Trust hopes to reduce systemic vulnerabilities and position the AV industry as a stronger partner within the broader cybersecurity ecosystem.

AV Trust is proud to launch as a new non-profit security organization serving the commercial audio-visual (AV) community. Founding members Douglas Schaefer (President), Colin Birney (Vice President & Treasurer), and Frank Padikkala (Secretary) created the organization with the mission of advancing cybersecurity in AV and unified communications technology through community education, research, and communication about vulnerabilities and security standards frameworks. AV Trust will serve as an independent, trusted resource for identifying, cataloging, and communicating security vulnerabilities and best practices in audiovisual and unified communications systems.

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

• Secretariat Council – coordination of vulnerability disclosure and communication activities.
• Standards Council – evaluation and creation of cybersecurity standards.
• Education & Events Council – creation and management of educational resources and events.

In addition, the organization is seeking financial support from companies in the AV industry to fund ongoing development. This will help cover ongoing costs of running the organization plus provide funding for security-related events, development of standards, and professionals experts for security research.

“The audio-visual industry has evolved over time to embrace a more connected architecture, but our security practices haven’t kept pace,” Doug Schaefer, President said. “We created AV Trust to change that by bringing the same vulnerability disclosure and security standards frameworks to AV that have protected traditional IT for decades. We hope that this can be a catalyst for keeping security at the forefront of AV system design and product development and ultimately make AV a safer and more consistent technology stack for organizations to use.”

The organization invites industry members to visit their website at https://avtrust.org or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/av-trust. At both locations, contact information for the organization and a link to the AV Trust Discord server can be found.

Together, AV Trust believes the AV industry can be a valuable partner with the security world and begin to address systemic security issues often present in IoT devices.