Marco Palacios is the Pacific Hackers Association President and the Global MDR Customer Success Manager at Fortinet. He started his career in IT and spent over a decade in IT operations before transitioning to Cybersecurity. A Blue teamer by heart, Marco has spent the last eight years specializing in defending organizations and building and implementing modern Security Operations. Marco is also a co-founder of the non-profit Pacific Hackers Association (PHA). Through the PHA, he mentors and advocates for veterans and underrepresented communities to help them find non-traditional paths in the cybersecurity industry. He served in the United States Air Force and deployed as part of “Operation Enduring Freedom.” He holds a Master’s in Cybersecurity, a bachelor’s in information systems, and different industry cybersecurity certifications such as GCIH, GMON, GNFA, GISF, GSEC, GCED, SSCP, CySA+, Net+, and A+.