Who is Madhu Gottumukkala?: Trump’s Indian-origin cyber agency chief reportedly shared sensitive files on ChatGPT | World News

Madhu Gottumukkala, the acting director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), reportedly uploaded sensitive government contract documents to a public version of ChatGPT after assuming leadership last summer.

He is the interim head of America’s cyber defense agency, whose mission is to protect government secrets.

His actions triggered numerous automated security alerts designed to prevent unauthorized disclosure or theft of federal materials, according to Politico’s report.

This misstep by Gottumukkala, the Trump-era deputy of Indian origin, was particularly notable because he reportedly received special permission from CISA’s Office of the Chief Information Officer to use the artificial intelligence tool after joining the agency in May 2025.

The information ChatGPT uploads to its public version is shared with OpenAI, meaning it can be used to respond to prompts from the app’s more than 700 million active users.

During this time, the use of ChatGPT was prohibited for other employees of the Department of Homeland Security.

“Gottumukkala forced CISA to give him ChatGPT and then misused it,” the report said.

Confidential and sensitive information in public domain

According to Politico, the files Gottumukkala uploaded to ChatGPT were not confidential, but they contained CISA contract documents labeled “for official use only”; this was a government definition for sensitive information not intended for public release.

Cybersecurity sensors at CISA flagged the uploads multiple times in August, prompting an internal review to determine whether the disclosures compromised government security, according to Department of Homeland Security officials familiar with the matter. The result of the investigation was not announced.

Who is Madhu Gottumukkala?

Madhu Gottumukkala, of Indian origin, is the most senior political official at CISA, the federal agency responsible for protecting government networks against sophisticated, state-sponsored cyber threats, including those from Russia and China.

He has over 24 years of experience in the field of information technology and holds a PhD in Information Systems from Dakota State University, an MBA in Engineering and Technology Management from the University of Dallas, an MS in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Arlington, and a BE in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Andhra University.

Gottumukkala has served as acting director of CISA since May after being appointed deputy director by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. DHS special counsel Sean Plankey, Trump’s nominee to lead CISA, was blocked last year over the Coast Guard’s shipbuilding contract, and a new confirmation hearing date has not yet been set.