ONVIF Introduces Standard for Video Authenticity Verification
ONVIF has announced the Release Candidate of its new Media Signing Add-on, a standardized solution designed to verify the origin and authenticity of surveillance footage amid the growing prevalence of manipulated and AI-generated video. The ONVIF Media Signing Add-on enables users to determine which device produced a recording and verify whether it has been altered since its creation, an increasingly important capability for law enforcement and internal investigations, insurance claims and legal proceedings.
The solution allows IP cameras and video encoders to cryptographically sign encoded video at the point of creation, linking the footage to the specific device that generated it. A video player or verification tool supporting the Media Signing Specification can then validate the signature and confirm the source of the footage even after it has been shared across different platforms and services.
“Proving authenticity is central to trust in video. The Media Signing Add-on Release Candidate gives the security industry a standardized method to help counter manipulated video and defend authentic content,” said Leo Levit, Chairman of the ONVIF Board of Directors. According to Levit, making it an open standard ensures transparency and enables investigators, insurers and courts to verify video from different sources using consistent tools and workflows.
The current version supports video, while audio support is planned for future releases, and products claiming conformance with the Media Signing Add-on will also need to conform to an ONVIF profile. ONVIF has also released the implementation as an open-source project on ONVIF GitHub, making the technology easier for camera manufacturers and developers to implement while providing transparency into how video signing and verification work. The final specification is expected by the end of 2026, with more information about the organization and its standards available from ONVIF.
