Patrick Quirk — Cybersecurity Operator, OSINT Specialist, Licensed Private Investigator

About

I'm a cybersecurity professional and licensed private investigator working at the intersection of digital intelligence and field investigation. I hold a Master's in Cybersecurity Management (Magna Cum Laude, Nova Southeastern) and a Bachelor's in Cybersecurity & Ethical Hacking (Magna Cum Laude, Maryville), and I run Spencer Investigations — a Florida-licensed agency with a 98% resolution rate across 100+ complex cases.

My career spans incident response at the University of Miami (80% reduction in response time), OSINT research supporting U.S. military operations at Torchlight, skip-trace coordination at Proof (500+ individuals, 98% success), and cybersecurity audits at Drawbridge. Outside day-to-day engagements I ship tools — 46 public projects spanning wardriving, threat visualization, data-center intelligence, retro-tech marketplaces, and a course platform.

In 2026 I founded ODINT, a 501(c)(3) public charity delivering open digital intelligence research, and co-founded Quantum Loom, shipping the first AirFence Ranger units from manufacturing. I write long-form at Medium / Substack, publish investigative exposés when the evidence supports them, and maintain a self-hosted infrastructure stack that mirrors what I recommend to clients.

I work in English, French, Spanish, and Italian, with conversational German. I'm open to consulting engagements, investigative partnerships, and senior cybersecurity roles — especially where OSINT, intelligence work, and hands-on tool-building overlap.

Professional Experience

PQ-EX-01
Founder & Executive Director

ODINT — Open Digital Intelligence (501(c)(3) public charity)
- Built and incorporated a Wyoming nonprofit delivering open OSINT research; IRS 501(c)(3) approval via Letter 947, EIN 41-4306936, effective 2026-01-27
- Designed the organization as a 509(a)(2) public charity with multilingual site, donation pipeline, and published warrant canary
- Directing research agenda, grant strategy, board formation, and warrant-canary cadence
Jan 2026 – Present
PQ-EX-02
Licensed Private Investigator & Agency Owner

Spencer Investigations — Florida
- Founded and operate a state-licensed PI agency (License A3200172 — active)
- Managed 100+ complex cases: cybercrime, fraud, asset searches, missing persons — 98% resolution rate
- Led cybercrime investigations using advanced OSINT to locate persons of interest and preserve digital evidence
- Built intelligence profiles across databases, credit reports, and legal filings for client-grade reporting
Oct 2008 – Present
PQ-EX-03
Skip Trace Coordinator

Proof — Denver, CO
- OSINT/GEOINT skip-tracing on 500+ individuals with 98% success rate
- Leveraged social media, public records, and geospatial tools to sharpen location accuracy
- Produced client-ready investigative intelligence with emphasis on privacy and chain of custody
Nov 2023 – Jan 2025
PQ-EX-04
Incident Response Analyst

University of Miami — Coral Gables, FL
- Cut incident response time 80% by triaging 15+ critical anomalies across Splunk and CrowdStrike
- Investigated security incidents with Palo Alto, Carbon Black, and Microsoft 365 Defender
- Managed identity & access with SailPoint and Duo Admin
- Strengthened phishing defense with ProofPoint TAP and tabletop exercises
Apr 2022 – Jul 2024
PQ-EX-05
OSINT Researcher

Torchlight — Saint Petersburg, FL
- Supported U.S. military operations by analyzing GPS/geospatial data to identify 20+ strategic coordinates
- Applied AI tooling to monitor cellular movements, improving classification accuracy 98%
- Briefed corporate executives and senior defense officials on intelligence findings
Aug 2023 – Feb 2024
PQ-EX-06
Cybersecurity Specialist

Drawbridge — West Palm Beach, FL
- Led cybersecurity audits for private equity firms, ensuring NIST compliance
- Conducted penetration testing, phishing simulations, and vulnerability assessments
- Authored gap analysis reports and incident response tabletop exercises
Aug 2021 – Apr 2022
PQ-EX-07
International Business Development Manager

VaporShark (formerly The Hand Media LLC) — South Miami, FL
- Fast-tracked through six promotions in 90 days; retail associate to global leadership
- Managed international B2B relationships, serving as French translator and liaison for European franchisees
- Directed U.S. franchise orders and fulfillment with emphasis on accuracy and client satisfaction
- Represented company at international trade shows, expanding brand presence and distributor network
- Exceeded sales targets by 350% through innovative outreach and relationship management
Sep 2014 – Sep 2020

Technical Skills

Cybersecurity & Threat Tools

Splunk
CrowdStrike
Carbon Black
Palo Alto Panorama
Microsoft 365 Defender
ProofPoint TAP
KnowBe4
ServiceNow

Identity & Access

SailPoint
Okta
Duo Admin
Active Directory

Forensics & Networking

Wireshark
Kismet
Linux (Kali, Debian, Ubuntu)

Intelligence & Development

OSINT · GEOINT · Threat Intelligence
TLO · IDI · IRB · LexisNexis · Profisee
Python · JavaScript · Go · Node.js
D3.js · Mapbox · MapLibre
Web scraping & data visualization
Self-hosted infra (Proxmox, Cloudflare Tunnel)

Education

Master of Science — Cybersecurity Management

Nova Southeastern University

May 2022 · GPA 3.7 / 4.0 · Magna Cum Laude

Bachelor of Science — Cybersecurity & Ethical Hacking

Maryville University of St. Louis

August 2020 · GPA 3.8 / 4.0 · Magna Cum Laude

Featured Projects

Articles & Writing

Technical guides, investigative exposés, and research notes. Long-form lives on Medium & Substack; a curated index appears below.

Follow @ringmast4r on Medium for updates.

Contact

I'm open to consulting, investigative engagements, speaking, and senior cybersecurity roles. Reach out directly — I read everything.

Or reach me here:

LinkedIn GitHub Medium Substack Discord Instagram Resume (PDF)

Patrick Quirk.

Founder & Executive Director

Licensed Private Investigator & Agency Owner

Skip Trace Coordinator

Incident Response Analyst

OSINT Researcher

Cybersecurity Specialist

International Business Development Manager