By Steve Neavling
Susan Ferensic has been named special agent in charge of the Columbia Field Office in South Carolina.
Ferensic’s career with the FBI began in 1997 in the Laboratory Division as a computer forensic examiner combing through digital evidence. In 2000, she became a special agent and was assigned criminal and national security computer intrusion matters in the Washington Field Office after graduating from the FBI Academy.
In 2007, Ferensic became supervisory special agent in the Cyber Division at FBI headquarters, where she served as a program manager for criminal computer intrusion investigations. In 2009, she transferred to the Albuquerque Field Office in New Mexico, leading the cyber and technically trained agent squad. She also served as the supervisory special agent of Albuquerque’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Ferensic was promoted in 2014 to special assistant to the executive assistant director of the Science and Technology Branch at FBI headquarters. In 2016, she became assistant special agent in charge of the Criminal Branch of the Sacramento Field Office in California.
Ferensic was named section chief of the Digital Forensics and Analytics Section in the Operational Technology Division at FBI headquarters in 2018. A year later, she was promoted to chief of staff of the Criminal Cyber Response and Services Branch at FBI headquarters, where she served before being appointed to head the Columbia Field Office.
Ferensic received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Maryland and went on to work as a computer scientist at the Department of Defense before joining the FBI.
