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Contact UsDigital Forensics and Incident Response
Mari DeGrazia is a Certified SANS Instructor and Director of Digital Forensics and Incident Response (DFIR) at IDX, where she leads global forensic engagements involving ransomware, data breaches, intellectual property theft, and business email compromise. She is the author of FOR563: Applied AI for Digital Forensics and Incident Response: Leveraging Local Large Language Models, a course that helps investigators harness AI and local LLMs to accelerate evidence analysis, automate investigative workflows, and enhance accuracy across digital investigations. Mari also teaches FOR500: Windows Forensic Analysis and FOR528: Ransomware and Cyber Extortion, combining her leadership in field investigations with practical instruction that reflects real-world forensic challenges.
Mari’s career spans more than 15 years in digital forensics and cyber response. Before joining IDX, she served as a Director at both IDX and Kroll Cyber Security, and earlier in her career held associate roles with Verizon’s RISK Team and Deloitte, where she supported large-scale forensic investigations for corporate, legal, and government clients. Earlier in her career, she served as Chief Computer Forensics Examiner at BitWise Computer Forensics, performing acquisitions and analysis for private-sector cases. This extensive field experience shapes her teaching, ensuring students develop the same systematic, evidence-driven mindset used in live investigations.
A respected voice in the DFIR community, Mari publishes forensic research and methodologies on her blog and develops open-source tools on GitHub. Her current research focuses on integrating artificial intelligence and local large language models (LLMs) into digital forensics and incident response, advancing automation and analytical accuracy in complex cases. She has served as a technical editor for multiple digital forensics publications and regularly speaks at industry conferences, including the SANS DFIR Summit, where she delivered the 2025 keynote, Applying AI and LLMs in Digital Forensics and Incident Response Workflows.
Mari holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Hawaii Pacific University. Her approachable teaching style, hands-on labs, and focus on practical skill-building prepare students to manage investigations with precision and adaptability. Mari is also a faculty member of the SANS Technology Institute, an NSA Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense, and a multi-year winner of the National Cyber League competition.
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