Telugu Man Leaks US Cyber Agency’s Papers to ChatGPT
Gottumukkala is working as the acting director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the body responsible for protecting US government networks from cyber threats.
Hyderabad:Madhu Gottumukkala, a Kakinada-based man, who is serving as the acting head of a key US cyber security agency, is under scrutiny after reportedly uploading sensitive internal documents to ChatGPT, according to a report by a US-based media house.
Gottumukkala is working as the acting director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the body responsible for protecting US government networks from cyber threats.
At the time, the use of ChatGPT was blocked for most employees of the US department of homeland Security (DHS), under which Cisa functions. According to media reports, Madhu had reportedly taken special permission from the agency’s information technology wing to use ChatGPT for limited and short-term work.
The documents uploaded were allegedly not classified, but were marked “for official use only”, notifying sensitive government information that is not meant to be shared publicly. The uploads triggered automated security alerts within Cisa in August last, leading to an internal review to check whether the incident had caused any damage to national security.
All information entered into the public version of ChatGPT is shared with the company, and could be used to improve its responses for other users. This raised concerns within the agency, especially given Cisa’s role in protecting sensitive systems and data.
Cisa’s public affairs office, responding to media reports, said that Gottumukkala had been granted permission to use ChatGPT under strict controls and only for a limited period. It added that the agency continues to block access to the tool by default, unless special approval is given.
Gottumukkala, who has more than two decades of experience in information technology, was appointed Cisa’s deputy director in May and took charge as acting director soon after. He is the most senior political official in the agency until a permanent director is confirmed.
According to his LinkedIn account, he completed his schooling from Kakinada Public School, and his engineering degree in electronics and communication engineering from Andhra University.
