SWEAR Launches Video Authentication Program for Public Agencies
SWEAR, a digital content authenticity company, has launched a new program aimed at helping cities and public agencies verify the authenticity of critical video evidence as concerns grow over deepfakes and other forms of synthetic media.
The Boise, Idaho-based company announced the Community Video Integrity Project on Sept. 8. The initiative is intended to help public-sector organizations establish a verifiable record of video authenticity beginning when footage is captured.
The program comes as manipulated video becomes more sophisticated and accessible, creating challenges not only around fabricated content but also around confidence in authentic recordings. According to a 2025 Pew Research Center survey cited in the announcement, 53% of Americans are not confident they can distinguish content created by AI from content created by people.
View a short interview with SWEAR Founder and CEO Jason Crawforth on SIW's YouTube channel.
Cities and public agencies rely on video for investigations, public safety, legal proceedings and accountability. As manipulated content becomes more difficult to identify, those organizations may also need to demonstrate that footage is authentic and has not been altered.
Through the Community Video Integrity Project, selected municipalities, law enforcement agencies and other public-sector organizations will deploy SWEAR across high-priority cameras. The system creates a verifiable record intended to document that footage is authentic and has not been changed from the time it is captured.
“Video plays a critical role in how our customers investigate incidents, respond to events, and make important security decisions,” said Andy Schreyer, vice president of technology at Stone Security. “As AI makes sophisticated manipulation increasingly accessible, protecting that video means building on how it is captured and stored to also prove authenticity.”
Schreyer said the project gives organizations a way to begin addressing video authentication as manipulation technology becomes more accessible.
The initiative is also designed for organizations using Milestone XProtect. SWEAR is intended to operate as an independent authentication layer alongside protections already provided within XProtect environments.
SWEAR creates a cryptographic record of original footage that can be used to document whether video has remained unchanged. That record can provide a point of reference when footage is used in investigations, legal proceedings or other situations in which the integrity of video evidence is questioned.
“Milestone XProtect gives organizations a secure, open foundation for managing critical video, and we are always looking at how that foundation evolves as the standard for trusting video rises,” said Tim Palmquist, vice president, Americas at Milestone Systems. “As AI makes manipulation more accessible, authenticity is becoming part of that standard.”
Palmquist said the project allows public-sector organizations to apply video authentication to high-priority cameras while using XProtect for investigations, accountability and public safety.
SWEAR CEO Jason Crawforth said the growth of AI-generated and manipulated content has changed what organizations may need to demonstrate when relying on video evidence.
“AI has fundamentally changed the standard for trusting video,” Crawforth said. “It’s no longer enough to look at a recording and believe what you see. Organizations need a way to prove that the video they present in an investigation, in court, or to the public is authentic and unchanged from the moment it was captured.”
Public-sector security leaders and Milestone customers interested in the Community Video Integrity Project can apply through SWEAR’s website.
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Rodney BoschRodney Bosch
Editor-in-Chief/SecurityInfoWatch.com
Rodney Bosch is the Editor-in-Chief of SecurityInfoWatch.com. He has covered the security industry since 2006 for multiple major security publications. Reach him at [email protected].