AV SuperFriends: Off the Rails - AV Network Security (There's no such thing as an island)

Recorded March 20, 2026 In this episode, the panel tackles one of the most overdue conversations in higher ed: AV network security. The regular panel is joined by the founding members of AV Trust, Doug Schaefer, Colin Birney, and Frank Padikkala. The news segment focuses on cybersecurity education pipelines, exploring how earlier hands-on exposure and employer partnerships could help build a more prepared workforce for technical fields. The main segment discusses the newly launched AV Trust initiative and the broader challenge of securing AV systems that increasingly live on shared enterprise networks. The conversation covers everything from outdated firmware practices, rebadged hardware, and weak manufacturer documentation, to IoT risk, cloud-connected devices, and the need for AV professionals to better understand the language of IT and cybersecurity. Rather than treating security as a niche or optional concern, the panel argues that AV must mature into a more transparent, standards-driven, and collaborative part of the larger technology ecosystem. By the end, the episode lands on a clear takeaway: AV is no longer separate from the network, and security can no longer be someone else's problem. With AV Trust aiming to bridge gaps through education, standards work, and community participation, this episode is a candid, funny, and timely look at where the industry needs to go next. News article: https://www.edsurge.com/news/2026-03-18-what-happens-when-employers-co-design-the-cybersecurity-classroom Connect with our guests: Colin Birney: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-birney/Doug Schaefer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-schaefer/Frank Padikkala: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankpadikkala/ AV Trust: https://www.avtrust.orghttps://www.linkedin.com/company/av-trust Educause HECVAT: https://www.educause.edu/higher-education-community-vendor-assessment-toolkit ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC): https://www.isc2.org/Certifications/CC Alternate show titles: You know what pays really well? Ransomware! Ain't no mountain high enough You can't stop me, but I'd love for you to participate A security-first mindset Security updates are tied to feature updates What's a risk profile? I have no idea what it does I'm clueless as far as security is concerned Security by obscurity The most miserable, hateful devices you can put on your network We do this really well with everyone other than IT Manufacturer X Model Y We have no idea what's on your switch The AV industry is way out over our skis I'm going to say something controversial A marketing company that will mail you a box I can probably tell if it's alive No amount of remote monitoring tells me that It can get to something, but it's not my network Security doesn't have to be a taboo topic that we all avoid We stream live every Friday at about 315p Eastern/1215p Pacific and you can listen to everything we record over at AVSuperFriends.com ▀▄▀▄▀ CONTACT LINKS ▀▄▀▄▀ ► Website: https://www.avsuperfriends.com ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/avsuperfriends ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/avsuperfriends ► YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@avsuperfriends ► Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/avsuperfriends.bsky.social ► Email: [e-mail] ► RSS: https://avsuperfriends.libsyn.com/rss Donate to AVSF: https://www.avsuperfriends.com/support