AV Trust
We will be holding info sessions for AV Trust so you can learn about the founders, our mission, and how you can get involved. Pick a session and sign up today!
Monday, July 13th, 2026 4:30PM to 5:00PM EST
Wednesday, July 15th, 2026 9:30AM to 10:00AM EST
Friday, July 17th, 2026 12:00PM to 12:30PM EST
AV Trust Launches as Non-Profit Security Organization for the Commercial Audio-Visual Industry
Westfield, IN – Feb 20, 2026 – 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:
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.
Media Contact:
Colin Birney
Vice President & Treasurer