ObscureIQ — Firm

The Firm

Two disciplines.
One firm.

ObscureIQ works at the intersection of intelligence and privacy. Two disciplines, usually separated. Kept together, each informs the other.

The firm is lean by design. Senior practitioners stay close to every case. Internal tooling handles what does not require human judgment.

Origin

Held together
on purpose.

Most privacy firms come out of cybersecurity. Most intelligence work happens behind closed doors. ObscureIQ began with the conviction that the two disciplines belong together.

Investigators understand what makes a person findable. Privacy practitioners understand how to make them less so. The firm was founded to keep both views in the same room.

The work that follows is more honest for it. We do not promise erasure. We do not sell dashboards. We reduce what can be used, watch what surfaces next, and tell principals what we see.

The firm grew out of work the founders were already doing — Colby on threat-actor identification and OSINT, Jeff on the structure of the data broker economy. The first engagements were referrals from people who knew that work and needed both halves of it.

That has remained the pattern. The firm does not market. It is found.

Principals

The people
doing the work.

Founder · CEO

Colby Scullion

Intelligence · OSINT

Colby leads the intelligence side of the firm. His work focuses on identifying threat actors, mapping digital footprints, and producing investigative reports principals and counsel can act on.

He runs BlackBear Recon, the firm's digital reconnaissance practice. His OSINT work has been published in industry case studies, including verification work in the aftermath of the New Year's Day Cybertruck incident.

Background in intelligent automation and OSINT tradecraft. Based in the Pittsburgh region.

Co-Founder · Managing Partner

Jeff Jockisch

Privacy · Data Broker Research

Jeff leads the privacy and research side of the firm. He is one of the recognized experts on the commercial surveillance economy and the data broker industry that powers it.

He built CODEX, the firm's index of more than eight thousand entities collecting consumer data. He has provided expert testimony to legislative bodies, is a LinkedIn Top Voice in privacy, and writes the Tactical Privacy Wire on data exposure and decay.

Background in data science, knowledge graphs, and the marketing and ad-tech industries he later turned his attention against.

The Team

Senior analysts work alongside the principals.

Each engagement is held by a named analyst. The analyst who scopes the work is the analyst who executes it. Senior practitioners stay close to every case.

The firm hires for depth, not headcount. Internal infrastructure — indexes, pipelines, monitoring stacks — handles what does not require human judgment, so analysts can focus on what does. The model scales without becoming a platform.

Analyst names are shared with principals at engagement intake, not published. The work the firm does — identifying adversaries, tracking targeting campaigns — makes that the right posture.

Posture

How we work.
Who we take.

By referral, not by marketing.

The firm does not advertise. Almost every engagement begins with an introduction from someone who has worked with us before. Counsel, security professionals, family offices, prior principals.

Engagements begin with a confidential call.

Before any scope or commitment, a private call to understand the situation, the exposure, and whether we are the right firm for the matter. The conversation is off-the-record by default. The principal controls what happens next.

Some engagements are declined.

Not every matter is a fit. We turn down engagements where the goals are unrealistic, where the work would conflict with our values, or where another firm is better suited. The decision is made before scope or pricing is discussed.

Engagement through legal counsel is available.

Principals who prefer to engage the firm through outside counsel can do so. Work performed under counsel direction is covered by attorney-client privilege. We can introduce qualified outside counsel for principals who do not already have one in place. The structure suits matters where confidentiality protections beyond NDA are warranted.

Confidentiality is the default, not the upgrade.

Every engagement is treated as confidential. No outsourcing, no resale of work product, no inclusion in case studies without explicit consent. Communications use encrypted channels. Internal systems are audited and hardened on an ongoing basis.

The model is built to scale without becoming a platform.

CODEX, internal pipelines, and monitoring infrastructure handle the parts of the work that do not require human judgment. Analysts handle the parts that do. The result is a practitioner firm with leverage. Faster turnarounds, more consistent output, more time spent on the work that matters.

Engagement structures are flexible.

Annual programs are the norm. Standalone investigations, retained relationships, and organizational sponsorships of individual coverage are all available. The right structure follows from the matter, not the menu.

Clients

People whose exposure
carries weight.

The firm's clients fall into four broad profiles. Names are never disclosed. Sectors and roles are described only in the most general terms.

Profile 01

High Net Worth

Executives, investors, board members, family offices, and founders whose visibility is tied to wealth, ownership stakes, or institutional position.

Profile 02

High Profile

Public figures, journalists, judges, elected officials, and others whose name and likeness are matters of public discussion.

Profile 03

High Touch

Attorneys, doctors, educators, public servants, and law enforcement professionals whose work routinely puts them in contact with hostile or unstable individuals.

Profile 04

High Risk

Federal agents, military personnel, activists, abuse survivors, whistleblowers, and others operating under direct or persistent threat.

Industry, role, and severity vary. The work is calibrated to the principal, not to the category.

They tracked the actors doxxing and harassing my team. Two of three were identified with certainty. Reports were delivered in a form law enforcement could act on.

Client · C-suite executive · Technology sector

I thought I was careful with my digital profile. I had used deletion services before. ObscureIQ was the first team to show me what my exposure still enabled.

Client · Founder · Private holdings

How a Conversation Starts

The first step
is a call.

A confidential call assesses your baseline exposure, your risk profile, and whether the firm is the right fit. The conversation is private by default. You control what happens next.

Counsel-mediated introductions are welcome. Direct introductions from prior principals or trusted referrers receive priority response.

Request a Confidential Call →