The Meaning Of "Edna" on NCIS, and Kasie's Decision at the End of S23 Episode 17, Explained

Warning: This article contains spoilers for NCIS Season 23, Episode 17.

In NCIS Season 23, important files are stolen from forensic scientist Kasie Hines (played by Diona Reasonover). During the MTAC upgrade, the department gets hacked, and computer specialist Daryl loses his life trying to protect NCIS's information.

In a clip, Kasie says, "I think I'm the reason why Daryl's dead," per TV Insider. But why were hackers targeting Kasie, and what did she have that was so important?

Edna was a program that Kasie had been working on since college. It helped identify fingerprints at crime scenes and create suspect profiles based on DNA evidence, according to Parade. Kasie was frustrated that DNA evidence at crime scenes often didn't lead to anything concrete, and she wanted to find a solution.

Hackers stole information from Kasie's "Edna" folder on her computer and deleted the files so that Kasie no longer had access to the information.

The Edna project was named after Kasie's grandmother. Kasie tells Sam (LL Cool J) that her grandma was the first woman in her town to become a doctor, and she raised three kids by herself.

Kasie said, "This program was supposed to be my legacy. Now it’s just something that I’m embarrassed about … Daryl lost his life over it."

Kasie was gearing up to sell the program to a tech company before she was hacked. Unfortunately, she didn't predict the ways in which the technology could be used for harm.

The hacker created a fingerprint using the system Kasie created and planted it at a crime scene, framing Kasie for murder.

As the team tracked down the hacker, Kasie was put in a holding cell. They eventually got Edna back and cleared Kasie's name. However, she came to the conclusion that the program was too dangerous to keep around, so she deleted it.

Diona told Parade, "The problem with Kasie is she can’t conceive of the bad side of things sometimes ... She’s so focused and so driven on justice that she doesn’t stop to think about the other side and what the implications could be."

Diona said that she thinks Kasie is truly done with the project after realizing it could be used against her. However, because the character is so driven to find justice, Diona hopes that Kasie will be able to put the program in the hands of someone who is able to see the potential negatives of the program and guard against them.

As for Kasie's legacy, Diona said, "I think her legacy is getting to represent the people of this country that are fighting the good fight. I think that that’s a huge legacy, knowing that you’re saving people’s lives, that you’re helping put the bad guy away, and making sure it’s the right person. It’s a pretty great legacy."