Madhu Gottumukkala, US Cybersecurity official, accused of uploading “sensitive” documents to ChatGPT

Madhu Gottumukkala, Acting Director and Deputy Director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), reportedly uploaded “sensitive” documents to a public version of ChatGPT in 2025, reported Politico, citing four officials from the Department of Homeland Security.

Details of the incident are still emerging, with the exact timeline of Mr. Gottumukkala’s ChatGPT usage and the results of an internal DHS review not yet confirmed.

However, the media outlet reported that Mr. Gottumukkala uploaded non-classified content that included CISA contracting documents intended for official use only. His activities were flagged in August, triggering a review.

The agency’s policy is to block access to ChatGPT by default unless an exception is granted, reported the outlet. However, one official alleged that Mr. Gottumukkala forced CISA to give him access to ChatGPT.

Public versions of AI chatbots often lack the advanced levels of cybersecurity controls mandated for government employee usage, raising concerns about uploaded content being viewed by AI companies, scraped, used in court proceedings, or even indexed online.

Listed as having over 24 years of experience in information technology per the CISA website, Mr. Gottumukkala “helps lead CISA’s mission to understand, manage, and reduce risk to the cyber and physical infrastructure that the American people rely on every day”.

Mr. Gottumukkala holds a Ph.D. in Information Systems from Dakota State University, an MBA in Engineering and Technology Management from the University of Dallas, an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Arlington, and a B.E. in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Andhra University.