The interim head of America’s cyber defense agency, which is responsible for safeguarding government secrets, uploaded sensitive contracting documents into a public version of ChatGPT after taking charge last summer.
The actions of Madhu Gottumukkala, the acting director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), triggered multiple automated security warnings meant to prevent the theft or accidental disclosure of government material from federal networks, according to a report by Politico.
Cybersecurity Chief share sensitive file on ChatGPT
This ironic mistake by Gottumukkala, an aide to Donald Trump of Indian descent, was particularly surprising because he reportedly obtained special permission from CISA’s Office of the Chief Information Officer to use the popular AI tool after joining the agency in May.
All the information Gottumukkala uploaded to the public version of ChatGPT shared with AI tool owner OpenAI, meaning it can used to respond to prompts from other app users. OpenAI’s app has over 700 million active users.
At the time, other employees of the Department of Homeland Security blocked from using ChatGPT. Gottumukkala “forced CISA’s hand into making them give him ChatGPT, and then he abused it,” the report stated.
Who Is Madhu Gottumukkala
Gottumukkala, of Indian origin, is currently the senior-most political official at CISA, a federal agency focused on securing government networks against sophisticated, state-backed hackers from adversarial nations like Russia and China.
With over 24 years of experience in information technology (IT), he 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 B.E. in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Andhra University.