Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2026. Read them in this 18th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
By Jason Crawforth, CEO, SWEAR
In 2026, the conversation around security will extend far beyond protecting people and property – it will center on protecting truth itself. As artificial intelligence systems become increasingly advanced in generating synthetic video content and government policies shift to keep pace with innovation, the security industry will assume a new kind of guardianship. The challenge will no longer be just about keeping spaces safe. It will be about making sure what we see is what actually happened and protecting the media that shapes our perception of reality. To address this challenge, we must ask ourselves this: What happens when we allow AI to freely manipulate the media we consume every day?
The rapid acceleration of both AI capabilities and the increasing availability of AI tools has introduced both opportunity and risk. Thanks to AI, video analytics, facial recognition, and predictive surveillance tools have advanced dramatically, yet the same technology can fabricate entire events, manipulate identities, and distort public perception. And with nearly nine billion devices capturing video that our institutions use for evidence, news, policy, claims, payouts, arrests, and headlines each day, it’s become more important than ever to verify what we see online
With Executive Order 14110 revoked and federal guidance on AI ethics temporarily on hold, there’s less direction on how authenticity should be protected. That gap is increasingly being filled by industries responsible for securing digital systems, and the security industry is well-positioned to step into that role.
The security industry has long specialized in building trust through verification, whether by authenticating access credentials or validating video evidence. That trust will extend into the digital realm as the industry develops systems designed to protect the data we use to make decisions. From surveillance platforms to forensic analytics, the focus will shift toward building solutions that ensure what is captured, transmitted, and stored remains untampered and verifiable.
In 2026, we’ll likely see a rise in content integrity networks – ecosystems where every piece of digital evidence, from a camera feed to a voice recording, carries a traceable digital signature. Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies will play a central role in this transformation. These systems can anchor each piece of content to an immutable record, establishing a permanent chain of custody that resists both AI manipulation and quantum-level decryption. For the security industry, this approach represents a natural evolution of existing principles: verify, protect, and trust only what can be proven.
Generative AI is getting better at producing convincing deepfakes, and that reality isn’t going away. At the same time, teams are storing video data on blockchain ledgers to create immutable records of digital content, ensuring the authenticity of the content remains intact. Over the next year, verification tools are likely to be built directly into surveillance workflows, quietly checking footage for red flags such as altered metadata, unusual compression behavior, or biometric inconsistencies. The aim is straightforward: confirm authenticity in real time so video remains trustworthy from the moment it’s captured.
Quantum computing will add another layer of urgency to this transformation. Traditional encryption standards will soon reach their limits, prompting an industry-wide transition toward quantum-resistant cryptographic protocols. Leading security manufacturers will integrate lattice-based and hash-based encryption into their products, creating a stronger foundation for protecting digital records from future decryption risks. These technologies will form the backbone of a security framework that is both forward-looking and resistant to next-generation threats.
Government and private-sector collaboration will also deepen. In the absence of broad national AI regulation, cross-industry partnerships will emerge to define voluntary authenticity standards for digital media. The security industry, with its long history of compliance-driven innovation, will play a key role in developing these frameworks. Standardized metadata labeling, content provenance certification, and verifiable audit trails will likely become embedded within surveillance systems as a new form of digital accountability.
This collaboration will extend into public communication. Public awareness around online threats has evolved before. Cybersecurity campaigns taught people how to spot phishing emails and suspicious links, often through simple, practical examples. A similar effort will be needed as AI-generated misinformation becomes more common. In that transition, the security industry can serve as a credible guide, helping translate technical advances into concepts people actually understand and trust.
Security companies are already preparing for this reality. Some are building authentication modules that integrate directly into video management systems, embedding cryptographic “fingerprints” into every frame and pursuing blockchain-backed storage networks that maintain an irrefutable record of digital evidence from capture to courtroom. These innovations signal a broader movement toward what could be called “authenticated security” – an era where protecting truth becomes as central as protecting access.
By late 2026, this evolution will redefine the very purpose of security systems. Surveillance platforms will no longer just capture events; they will use emerging technologies to verify their authenticity in real time, and digital forensics teams will work within a new framework of content integrity that restores confidence in what can be trusted.
The security industry’s future lies in its ability to guard reality itself. As AI-generated misinformation becomes hyper-realistic and policy landscapes shift, this industry’s traditional strengths – verification, trust, and accountability – will serve as society’s best defense against digital deception to protect our evidentiary standards.
Truth is our most valuable form of security, and the security industry is rising to protect it.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jason Crawforth is a seasoned entrepreneur and leading authority in digital content authenticity. As the Founder and CEO of SWEAR, he’s dedicated to protecting the truth by securing digital content with blockchain technology. With over 25 years of leadership and early-stage company experience, Jason has managed over 100 global systems and mobile solutions that have garnered over 35 million downloads worldwide. This highlights Jason’s passion and expertise in continuing to promote a more transparent digital community.
