Privacy Broker vs Security Consultant
I’m a privacy broker, so weigh this page accordingly. I’ve tried to write it the way I’d want it written if I were the one choosing, including the cases where you should hire someone who isn’t me.
Short answer. A privacy broker works on a person: what the public can find about them and how it can be used. A security consultant works on a system: networks, devices, applications and the policies around them. If the worry is “someone could find where I live,” start with a privacy broker. If the worry is “someone could get into our systems,” start with a security consultant. Many people need both, in that order or the other.
Side by side
| Privacy broker | Security consultant | |
|---|---|---|
| Works on | A person or family’s exposure | An organization’s or individual’s systems |
| Typical question | What can a stranger find about me? | How could an attacker get into this? |
| Typical work | Removals, de-indexing, false-detail seeding, public-record review, monitoring | Assessments, penetration tests, configuration reviews, policies, incident response |
| Output | A smaller, less usable public footprint | A list of weaknesses and fixes, or the fixes done |
| Credentials | None standard. No license or exam | Often certifications and employer track record |
| Ends when | Never fully. Records return and need rechecking | The scope is done, though systems drift |
What each costs
Privacy broker. Adelmann Cybersecurity, where I work, quotes per engagement and does not publish prices. I’m not going to invent a figure here. Ask for a written scope and a single price for the project, and be wary of anyone who won’t give one.
Security consultant. Published rate guides vary widely and few cover cybersecurity alone. One 2026 consultant guide from GoFractional lists roughly $50 to $150 an hour for early-stage consultants, $150 to $300 for experienced ones, and more than $300 for specialists. It covers consultants in general, so treat it as a rough range and get a quote for a defined scope.
For reference, a private investigator, which is a third role people confuse with both: a 2026 survey by a law firm of 26 investigators’ quoted hourly rates in the ten largest US metros found an average of $132 an hour, a median of $130, and a range of $25 to $250.
Sources and dates: GoFractional consultant guide (2026); Zealous Advocate PI cost survey (May 5, 2026). Prices change. Double-check them before you rely on them.
Choose a security consultant when
- The risk is to systems you operate: a company network, a website, a cloud account, a product.
- You need a test, a report or a compliance document.
- You’ve had an intrusion. Incident response is their job.
- The threat is a technical attacker rather than someone looking you up.
Choose a privacy broker when
- The risk is to a person or family. Examples: an executive who’s been threatened, someone in a legal dispute, a public figure whose address is online.
- The exposure is public: people-search sites, property records, tagged photos, family links.
- You want someone to do the tedious part, repeatedly, with the same person accountable.
How Kidnappers Choose Their Targets shows the second case from the attacker’s side.
Where they overlap
Account security, phone number protection and device settings sit in both. A SIM swap is a security problem that starts with a privacy problem: the attacker needed enough personal information to impersonate you. A good version of either role will tell you when the other is needed.
Choose neither when
- You can do the free parts yourself. Opt-outs, a password manager and an authenticator app cover a lot. The removal services and DIY comparison has the details and prices.
- The threat is physical and immediate. Call the police first.
- You need legal action. That is a lawyer.
What to ask whoever you hire
- What exactly will you do, and what won’t you do?
- What do you need from me? (The honest answer is never “nothing.”)
- How will I know it worked, and how will you check later?
- Do you offer a guarantee? If yes, leave.
For a longer definition of the role, see what a privacy broker is.