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This week it was reported that U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is in dire shape<\/a>, after a year of cuts, layoffs, and furloughs under the Trump administration. Now the agency has replaced its top acting leader, a CISA spokesperson tells TechCrunch.<\/p>\n The move to replace Madhu Gottumukkala as the acting director of CISA, an agency under the Department of Homeland Security that oversees cybersecurity and technical protection across the federal government, comes after a tumultuous year serving as the agency\u2019s top boss.<\/p>\n Gottumukkala struggled to lead the agency during his tenure as acting director and caused security headaches<\/a>, including the uploading of sensitive government documents to ChatGPT, according to reports. Staffing at the agency was slashed by one-third<\/a>. Gottumukkala also reportedly failed a counterintelligence polygraph<\/a> he took in order to view classified documents, and suspended several career officials in response, including the agency\u2019s then-chief security officer.<\/p>\n Before being nominated to CISA as deputy director, Gottumukkala was chief technology officer of South Dakota under then-governor and current Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.<\/p>\n ABC News<\/a> was first to report Gottumukkala\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n In a statement shared with TechCrunch on Friday, CISA spokesperson Marci McCarthy claimed Gottumukkala had done a \u201cremarkable job.\u201d McCarthy told TechCrunch that Nick Andersen will replace Gottumukkala as CISA\u2019s new acting director, and that Gottumukkala has been moved to a new position as director of strategic implementation in the Department of Homeland Security, which houses CISA. <\/p>\n Prior to his appointment as acting director to lead CISA, Andersen served<\/a> as the agency\u2019s top official overseeing its cybersecurity division.<\/p>\n Techcrunch event<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBoston, MA<\/span> The agency still hasn\u2019t had a permanent Senate-confirmed director since Trump returned to office.<\/p>\n McCarthy said the Trump administration has chosen Sean Plankey to be the agency\u2019s permanent director, which requires a majority vote of approval in the U.S. Senate.\u00a0<\/p>\n The White House re-nominated Plankey to head CISA in January<\/a>, after Sen. Ron Wyden last year blocked Plankey\u2019s nomination<\/a> until the agency agreed to release an unclassified report allegedly describing cybersecurity flaws at phone and telecommunication giants. Wyden demanded the report\u2019s release in the wake of hundreds of hacks<\/a> targeting U.S. and international phone and internet providers by the China-backed hacking group known as Salt Typhoon. The Senate has yet to schedule Plankey\u2019s nomination hearing.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJune 9, 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n