Founder and CEO. Bachelor of Science in cybersecurity from SANS Technology Institute. 9 active SANS GIAC certifications including GCIH, GCIA, and GSEC, the credential mix that supports expert-witness qualification under Daubert and Frye. Designed the court-admissible forensic methodology that SleuthX encodes and trains on. Roughly a decade in incident response and threat intelligence for Fortune 50 enterprises and the defense industrial base before founding the company.
OSCP-certified offensive security engineer with experience across red teaming, penetration testing, digital forensics, and AI security. Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Western Governors University. In 2025 she shipped exploit proof-of-concepts and patches against AI training infrastructure as a contractor in the AI security space, the same threat surface SleuthX defends consumers from. Active CTF competitor, DEFCON and BSides regular, contributor to non-profit OSINT projects. At SleuthX she will take investigations, field operations, and agency licensing as that side of the practice comes online.
Takes investigations and field operations going forward.
Quinnlan designed the forensic methodology the agent is built on, owns case judgment, and is the named expert witness on litigation engagements. Alex brings the offensive-security discipline and takes investigations, field operations, and the agency build-out going forward. The company operates under SleuthX, Inc.
The practice behind the agent
Quinnlan Varcoe is Founder and CEO. She holds a Bachelor of Science in cybersecurity from SANS Technology Institute and 9 active certifications across GIAC, including GCIH, GCIA, and GSEC. She designed the court-admissible forensic methodology that the SleuthX agent encodes and trains on, and she is the named expert witness on litigation engagements covering family law, commercial litigation, and IP disputes.
How the work splits
Quinn owns the product, the methodology, case judgment, and testimony. She designed the court-admissible process the agent encodes, and litigation engagements carry her name. Alex brings the offensive-security discipline and takes investigations, field operations, and the agency build-out going forward.
Alex Riffenburgh is Co-Founder and OSCP-certified, with experience across red teaming, penetration testing, digital forensics, and AI security. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Western Governors University. Active CTF competitor, DEFCON and BSides regular, contributor to non-profit OSINT projects.
The agent (SleuthX) scales the procedural work that previously consumed senior-analyst hours, under the methodology Quinn designed.
Verifying the 9 active certifications
Quinn's credential mix is what supports court qualification on the litigation side and credible methodology on the enterprise side. Every certification is active and verifiable directly with the issuing body. Lapsed certifications are not shown. The full registry is published in the certifications section below.
Evidence is preserved using forensically sound acquisition methods. Chain of custody is documented. Methodology aligns with FRE 901 and FRCP 26. Reports are written for non-technical decision-makers but defensible under technical scrutiny in deposition or trial. Quinn is qualified to testify under Daubert and Frye standards on the work product. SleuthX, the AI agent, operates inside that same methodology under principal review.
Building toward a licensed PI agency
Digital forensics and incident response are not regulated under PI licensure. That's a different regulatory regime. SleuthX runs DFIR and credentialed-examiner work in-house today. Where a case calls for licensed private-investigator work (surveillance, fieldwork, certain pre-employment investigations, particular evidentiary chains), we coordinate that work through our licensed-investigator partner network.
Quinn qualifies as principal applicant under Florida's Class C PI license rules in the company's founding jurisdiction. The longer-term company plan is multi-state PI agency licensure, starting with Florida and building out via reciprocity, qualifying-manager hires, and targeted acquisition of existing licensed practices. SleuthX is not currently a licensed PI agency; every claim about licensure on this site is forward-looking. When that status changes, the language on this page changes.
Expert-witness work
Expert witness engagements cover family law, commercial litigation, IP disputes, breach-causation matters, and arbitration. Available for deposition, hearing, and trial. Available for rebuttal of opposing-counsel forensic reports. Engagements are structured under the retaining attorney's privilege.
How an engagement begins
Confidential consultation.NDA-protected. 30 to 60 minutes. Direct conversation with Quinn. No sales process.
Scoped engagement. Written proposal with defined deliverables and pricing. Per-case, hourly with milestone caps, or subscription depending on what fits.
Investigation, review, and findings. Court-admissible standards. Written report you can act on, reviewed and signed off by Quinn.
What this means for you
Written scope before any work. You see a written scope covering deliverables, timeline, and price, and you approve it before we begin. You are never billed for work you did not authorize.
We commit to findings, not outcomes. We tell you up front what the evidence can and cannot establish. Recovery, attribution, and prosecution are decided by banks, platforms, insurers, and courts. We produce the record they act on, and we put that distinction in writing.
Every case is investigated, not just scanned. A credentialed examiner reviews every case before findings leave the practice. You get a documented investigation to court-admissible standards, not a single automated scan and a one-line answer.
We will tell you if you do not need us. If a free or simpler step would resolve your situation, whether a police report, an IC3 filing, or a platform's own recovery flow, we point you there first.
Why this work matters
Cellebrite and Belkasoft licensing costs $10K to $30K per year per analyst, which forces traditional forensic services to charge $5K to $15K per case. The people who need help most get priced out. SleuthX, the AI agent layered on this practice, extends court-grade methodology to consumer pricing tiers, and that is what makes personal cybersecurity services for individuals and families affordable for real people. Quinn still owns case judgment.
How We Work
A confidential, structured engagement.
01
Confidential Consultation
A direct conversation with Quinn, the founder and CEO who oversees every engagement. NDA-protected. No sales process.
02
Scoped Engagement
A clear written proposal with defined deliverables, timeline, and pricing. No hidden costs.
03
Investigation and Findings
Forensic work conducted to court-admissible standards, with regular communication and a written summary you can act on.
Frequently asked about the founders and the practice
Who is Quinn Varcoe?
Quinn Varcoe is the founder and CEO of SleuthX. She holds a Bachelor of Science in cybersecurity from SANS Technology Institute and 9 active SANS GIAC certifications including GCIH, GCIA, and GSEC, a credential mix that supports qualification as an expert witness in federal court under Daubert and Frye standards, and she is the named expert witness on litigation engagements. Before founding the company she spent roughly a decade in incident response and threat intelligence for Fortune 50 enterprises and the defense industrial base. She designed the court-admissible forensic methodology that the SleuthX AI agent encodes and trains on.
Who is Alex Riffenburgh?
Alex Riffenburgh is co-founder of SleuthX. She is an OSCP-certified offensive security engineer with experience across red teaming, penetration testing, digital forensics, and AI security, and she holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Western Governors University. She is an active CTF competitor, a DEFCON and BSides regular, and a contributor to non-profit OSINT projects. At SleuthX she takes investigations, field operations, and the agency build-out going forward.
What is the principal-led practice model?
Quinnlan Varcoe is Founder and CEO; she designed the forensic methodology SleuthX is built on and is the named expert witness for litigation engagements. Alex Riffenburgh is Co-Founder; she brings the offensive-security discipline and takes investigations, field operations, and the agency build-out going forward. The agent scales the procedural work that previously consumed senior-analyst hours, under the same methodology. This is how the company delivers court-grade work at consumer pricing tiers.
How many certifications does the practice hold?
Quinn personally holds 9 active GIAC certifications, spanning incident response, intrusion analysis, cloud security automation, mobile device security, Python coding, and information-security governance. The credential mix is what supports court qualification on the litigation side and credible methodology on the enterprise side. The full registry is published in the certifications section below on this page; every cert is verifiable directly with the issuing body, and lapsed certifications are not displayed.
What is the difference between SleuthX and Varcoe?
SleuthX and Varcoe are two brands operated by the same legal entity, SleuthX, Inc., a Delaware C-corporation. SleuthX is the umbrella brand for forensic and investigative work, including litigation support, personal forensics, and family-office services. Varcoe (varcoe.ai) is the B2B sister brand focused on enterprise cybersecurity (vCISO, MDR, compliance, offensive security). The investigators and engineers, the methodology, and the contracting entity are the same; the brand surfaces serve different audiences.
Where are you located?
The practice is headquartered in Naples, Florida. Engagements are taken nationwide. Most forensic and consulting work is performed remotely with court-admissible chain of custody for shipped or imaged devices. On-site response is available for active incidents, expert-witness deposition or trial, and enterprise engagements that require in-person work. International engagements are considered case by case, subject to export-control rules.
How do you decide which cases to take?
Three filters. First, fit: the case has to actually need digital forensics or incident response, not a simpler step we can refer out (a police report, an IC3 filing, a platform-native recovery flow). Second, capacity: we cap concurrent active matters so every engagement gets Quinn's direct review and the practitioner team's focused execution. Third, ethics: we decline cases where the requested outcome would require methodology we cannot defend in court, unlawful surveillance of another person, or work that conflicts with a current client. If we decline, we tell you why and where possible refer you to someone who can help.
Quinnlan Varcoe
GIAC-certified · Founder & CEO
Schedule Your Session
Schedule a confidential consultation
A direct conversation with Quinn, the founder and CEO who oversees every engagement. NDA-protected. No sales process. Most engagements begin within 48 hours.
