Madhu Gottumukkala, acting director of the United States (US) Cyber Defense Agency, leaked sensitive agency documents to the popular AI chatbot, ChatGPT.
A Policy The investigation found that Gottumukkala obtained special permission from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Office of the Chief Information Officer to use the chatbot, although it was blocked for all DHS officials.
He then uploaded the sensitive documents to the public version of ChatGPT in 2025, triggering alarms about a potential leak of sensitive data.
According to four Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials familiar with the matter, the acting chief’s actions triggered several automated security warnings aimed at preventing the inadvertent theft or leak of government documents.
The uploaded documents were not marked “classified,” but they were marked “For Official Use Only.”
Following the incident, DHS launched an internal investigation to assess the situation and possible security harms. It remains unclear exactly what the review concluded.
CISA has since built its own AI-powered chatbot, DHSchat, to prevent further incidents and document leaks on federal networks.
Who is Madhu Gottumukkala?
Madhu Gottumukkala is an Indian-origin American official who serves as Acting Director and Deputy Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
Gottumukkala has over 24 years of experience in information technology and a strong academic background with degrees in engineering, computer science, business management and information systems.
