‘Forced access, then abused it’: Trump’s Indian-origin acting cyber chief uploaded sensitive files on ChatGPT

Madhu Gottumukkala, the Indian-origin interim head of the United States’ cyber defence agency, reportedly uploaded sensitive files into a public version of ChatGPT last year, triggering multiple security warnings at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) office.

Gottumukkala, as the acting director of CISA, had requested the agency’s Office of the Chief Information Officer for special permission to use OpenAI’s popular AI tool – ChatGPT, Politico reported. He reportedly made the request soon after arriving at the cyber defence agency in May 2025, three officials from the Department of Homeland Security were cited as saying.