ONVIF Newsletter October 2026

 

Greetings from Leo Levit,

In recent years, much of our work has centered on three questions: how cameras connect to the cloud, how devices communicate securely, and how to prove that video is authentic. This summer, Profile V, the TLS Configuration Add-on 2.0, and the Media Signing Add-on reached Release Candidate status, with final releases to follow; read more about all three below.

With that foundation in place, our attention is turning to the next question: how do we make physical security systems truly AI-ready while preserving trust and interoperability?

Our AI Working Group is taking on the pieces underneath: how systems describe what they can do, how they separate what was observed from what was concluded and acted on, and how information carries proof of its origin. The group is developing new specifications built on the Model Context Protocol (MCP) that give AI agents a standard way to discover and work with video surveillance devices.

To test the draft specifications, ONVIF will host an AI hackathon during our Plugfest in Mexico City this November. The hackathon is open only to member companies, which get hands-on access to the drafts well before public release and can send feedback directly to the Technical Committee. If your organization is not yet a member, this is a good time to join!

Kind regards,

Leo Levit
Chair, ONVIF Board of Directors

News 

ONVIF Members Gather in Prague for September Meeting

Nearly 60 representatives from 20 organizations joined us in Prague, Czech Republic, in September for the ONVIF Fall All-Committee Meeting. It was a full four days: the ONVIF Board of Directors, Technical Committee, Technical Services Committee, and Communication Committee met alongside working groups moving our current initiatives forward, from AI and the Profile V cloud profile to the Media Signing Add-on, upcoming audio profile, and updates to the ONVIF conformance test tools.

Members also came together for an open forum on the ONVIF future roadmap and strategic initiatives. Attendees also participated in an Access Control Solutions workshop with guests from SAFR, Prima Systems, and XPro Security that explored where standardization can add the most value in access control.

We look forward to welcoming ONVIF members to the next meeting, which takes place March 9–12, 2027, in Fukuoka, Japan.

ONVIF Takes the Stage at Adria Security Summit

ONVIF was pleased to continue our conference program sponsorship of the 2026 Adria Security Summit, Southeast Europe’s largest security event, held October 7–8 in Zagreb, Croatia. ONVIF Ambassador Roberto Licari spoke on two panels: one on October 7 on interoperability and the practical challenges of moving security systems to the cloud, and one on October 8 on how responsibility for security technology is shifting toward IT. ONVIF Chairman Leo Levit also served as Chairman of the Jury for the A&S Adria Awards 2026, which named winners in nine categories on October 8.

For more details, click here.

ONVIF to Host AI Hackathon in Mexico City

The ONVIF AI Working Group is developing new specifications built on the Model Context Protocol (MCP), designed to give AI agents a standard way to discover and work with video surveillance devices from different manufacturers. To test the drafts, ONVIF will host a hackathon during its Technical Meeting and Plugfest in Mexico City, November 9–13.

Developer teams will build a traffic monitoring workflow in which two cameras independently read a vehicle’s license plate, and separate services calculate its average speed and decide whether to flag it for speeding, with every result traceable to its source. Participants will work with signed metadata, source identity, timing, and location data, while preserving the distinction between what a camera detected, what the analytics calculated, and what a policy-based service concluded.

The hackathon is open to ONVIF member companies, and participants’ feedback goes directly to the AI Working Group.

ONVIF member companies can register here for the hackathon.

Not an ONVIF member company? Now is a great time to join! Learn more about ONVIF membership here.

ONVIF Media Signing Add-on Release Candidate Advances Video Authenticity

ONVIF has published the Release Candidate for the Media Signing Add-on, a standardized method for confirming the authenticity and integrity of surveillance video. Network video devices such as IP cameras and video encoders cryptographically sign video at the point of creation, and a video player or verification tool that supports the specification can confirm whether the signed video is valid and trace it back to its source, even after it has been shared across different platforms and services. ONVIF has released the framework code for both signing and verification as an open-source project. ONVIF expects to release the final specification at the end of 2026.

ONVIF also brought media signing to GSX 2026 in Atlanta, September 14–16, where ONVIF Ambassador Roberto Licari presented “Can Security Video Survive Generative AI?” The session looked at how manipulated video is affecting trust in security footage and how the Media Signing Add-on Release Candidate can help verify that video is authentic.

Read our Media Signing blog and FAQ.

ONVIF Updates TLS Configuration Add-on to Strengthen Secure Communication

ONVIF has published the TLS Configuration Add-on 2.0 Release Candidate, a standard way to set up encrypted communication between ONVIF conformant devices and video management systems, updated to keep pace with current cybersecurity practices. As an add-on, it can evolve with new requirements without affecting products in the field. ONVIF expects to finalize the specification at the end of 2026.

Read the TLS Configuration Add-on 2.0 press release.

Find ONVIF at Upcoming Events

ONVIF representatives will be speaking and meeting with the industry at several events this fall.

ONVIF in the News

In an op-ed for CXO Insight Middle East, ONVIF Chair Leo Levit wrote that AI is moving surveillance from passive recording to real-time intelligence, but that progress depends on two things: systems that can share data across platforms, and the ability to verify that digital evidence is authentic as deepfakes become easier to produce. “The future of surveillance will be shaped by two priorities: interoperability and trust,” he wrote.

Read the full article here.

In an exclusive interview with A&S International, ONVIF Ambassador Roberto Licari explained what makes Profile V different from earlier ONVIF profiles. “Under Profile V, the device initiates the connection—not the client, like in other profiles,” he said, which reduces the need for VPNs or firewall changes. Licari also outlined how the profile supports video, audio and AI metadata through established protocols such as WebRTC.

Read the full interview here.

In a SecurityInformed roundtable on how the economic climate affects security, Leo Levit pointed to two trends he believes are underestimated: AI as an economic shift on the scale of electricity or the internet, and a move toward regional versions of technology standards. Fragmented standards, he warned, force manufacturers and integrators to duplicate compliance work region by region. “That is where a shared interoperability standard ceases being a nice-to-have and starts being the only way to keep the industry moving forward without everyone paying twice for the same problem.”

Read the full roundtable in SecurityInformed.

To see more ONVIF news coverage, click here.