Most IT security teams have a detailed patch management process for their servers and laptops. Most of those same teams have no patch process at all for the IP-connected cameras, microphones, codecs, and displays sitting in their meeting rooms.
That gap is catching up with people. AVIXA named cybersecurity the number one AV industry trend for 2026. ISE 2026 in Barcelona launched its first-ever dedicated Cybersecurity Summit. And Metrigy reported in late 2025 that attacks on workplace collaboration platforms had surged more than 300 percent since 2021. The message is pretty clear at this point: meeting room technology is a real security domain, and the industry is finally treating it like one.
How Meeting Rooms Became a Security Problem
Ten years ago, a conference room had an analog phone on the table and maybe a projector bolted to the ceiling. None of it touched the corporate network. That world is gone.
Today’s meeting rooms are full of IP-connected devices. Cameras with web interfaces. Microphones on the network. Touch panels retrieve calendar data from your identity provider. Codecs connected to cloud collaboration platforms. Displays with embedded browsers. Every one of these is a networked endpoint, and collectively they have access to some of your most sensitive systems—calendars, directory services, video streams of confidential conversations.
Most organizations still treat AV equipment like furniture. IT manages the network. Facilities manages the rooms. The devices in between? Nobody really owns them from a security standpoint. And that ownership gap is exactly where attackers tend to gain entry.
A compromised meeting room camera is an insider listening device. A networked audio processor with default credentials and an open management port is a lateral movement path into your broader network. A display with browsing capability becomes a phishing delivery mechanism if someone with physical access reaches the interface. Security researchers demonstrated all of these attack patterns publicly in 2024 and 2025. This isn’t theoretical risk assessment—it’s stuff that’s already happened.
The Risks That Should Be on Your Radar
The specific vulnerabilities in AV systems tend to fall into a handful of categories. If any of these sound familiar, your meeting rooms probably need attention:
- Unpatched firmware. AV devices ship with firmware that is updated far less frequently than the firmware on your laptops or servers. Some organizations have never updated the firmware on their room systems since the day they were installed. Every unpatched device is a known vulnerability sitting on your network.
- Default credentials. It’s 2026 and there are still meeting room systems deployed with factory-default admin passwords. Attackers don’t need to break in when the front door is never locked.
- Flat network architecture. If your AV devices live on the same network segment as your corporate workstations and servers, a compromised display or codec gives an attacker direct access to your internal network. No additional pivoting required.
- AI transcription and recording data. As covered in our previous post on AI meeting rooms, transcription and recording features create new data that needs to be governed. From a security perspective, those transcripts and recordings are high-value targets—they contain the substance of confidential business conversations.
- Cloud management platforms. Tools like Crestron XiO Cloud and Q-SYS Reflect give you fleet-level visibility and control over your AV systems. That’s great for operations. But those same management interfaces need proper authentication, access controls, and audit logging—because a compromised management platform gives an attacker control over every device connected to it.
What Good AV Security Looks Like
Here’s the thing—securing AV systems doesn’t mean building a whole new security program from scratch. Most of the controls are the same ones you already apply to laptops and servers. The hard part is actually getting them applied to AV equipment, which has historically lived outside IT’s purview.
- Dedicated VLANs for AV endpoints. Segment AV traffic away from your general corporate network. This is the single highest-impact step you can take. If a device is compromised, segmentation limits the blast radius.
- Centralized firmware management. Use cloud management platforms to track firmware versions across your AV fleet and push updates on a regular schedule. Treat AV firmware the same way you treat OS patches.
- No default credentials. Ever. Change admin passwords on every AV device before it goes into production. Use your identity management system if the device supports it. This is basic, but it’s still the most common gap.
- Encrypt data in transit. Meeting room control traffic and media streams should be encrypted. If your AV infrastructure is sending management commands or audio/video over the network in cleartext, you have a problem.
- Bring AV into your existing IT security frameworks. AV devices should appear in your asset inventory, your vulnerability scanning, and your ITSM ticketing system. If a camera needs a firmware update, it should be tracked in the same system as a laptop that needs a Windows patch.
Why This Is Harder Across a Global Footprint
Everything above is manageable for a single office. It gets complicated fast when you’re operating meeting rooms across 20 or 30 countries.
Different countries have different data residency and privacy regulations that affect how you handle meeting room data, especially recordings and transcripts. NIS2 is adding cybersecurity requirements across the EU that will directly impact organizations operating networked AV systems. Some countries have specific rules about surveillance equipment—and a networked camera with a microphone in a meeting room can fall under those rules, depending on local law.
On the practical side, implementing consistent security controls across a global AV fleet means working with local teams who understand the equipment, the network environment, and the regulatory context in each market. Your corporate security team can write a great policy, but it doesn’t do much if nobody at the local office knows how to apply it to a Crestron touch panel or a Q-SYS core.
This is where a lot of organizations get stuck. The security team writes the rules, but the local AV vendor has never thought about network segmentation. Or the IT team understands segmentation but has no idea what protocols the room systems use. You need partners who know both worlds—the AV side and the security side—and that combination is rarer than you’d think.
Building Security Into Your AV Program
AV cybersecurity isn’t something you do once and check a box. It belongs in your security program right alongside endpoint management, network security, and cloud governance. The industry is heading this direction fast—ISE’s Cybersecurity Summit, AVIXA’s trend reports, and manufacturers like Shure and Crestron building security features into their product lines all point the same way.
PSNI Global Alliance’s Certified Solution Providers work under shared standards that include security protocols. In over 65 countries across six continents, they bring AV expertise and local regulatory knowledge together, which is what it takes to secure meeting rooms at a global scale without leaving gaps in markets you don’t know as well.
If your organization is looking at AV security across a multi-site footprint, talk to PSNI. The network was built for exactly this kind of cross-border challenge.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are conference room AV systems really a security risk?
Yes. Modern AV systems are networked endpoints with cameras, microphones, and connections to identity and calendar systems. They face the same vulnerabilities as any other device on your network—unpatched firmware, default credentials, flat network placement. AVIXA named cybersecurity the top AV industry trend for 2026, and ISE 2026 launched its first dedicated Cybersecurity Summit in response to rising attacks on collaboration platforms.
How do I secure AV systems on my corporate network?
Start with network segmentation—put AV devices on dedicated VLANs separate from your general corporate traffic. Change all default credentials before devices go into production. Implement centralized firmware management and patch AV devices on a regular schedule. Encrypt management and media traffic. And bring AV systems into your existing IT asset inventory, vulnerability scanning, and ticketing workflows.
What regulations apply to AV cybersecurity?
It depends on your industry and where you operate. GDPR and NIS2 in the EU impose requirements on how networked devices and data are managed. HIPAA applies if meeting recordings could contain protected health information. Government contractors in the US may face CMMC, FedRAMP, or FISMA requirements that extend to all networked endpoints, including AV systems. Local surveillance and privacy laws can also apply to meeting room cameras and microphones.
Why does global AV security require local expertise?
Data residency and privacy regulations vary by country. Surveillance equipment laws differ across jurisdictions. And implementing security controls consistently across a global AV fleet requires integrators on the ground who understand the local regulatory environment, the equipment, and the network architecture. A security policy written at headquarters only works if someone in each market knows how to apply it to the actual room systems.
