CISA Acting Director Gottumukkala Faces Backlash Over Unauthorized Polygraph Test

At least six career staffers at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) were suspended with pay this summer after organizing a polygraph test that the agency’s acting director, Madhu Gottumukkala, failed, according to multiple current and former U.S. cybersecurity officials.

The Department of Homeland Security subsequently initiated a probe into whether the staff provided “false information” about the need for the test, which was scheduled after Gottumukkala sought access to highly sensitive cyber intelligence shared with CISA by another U.S. intelligence agency.

A report described the incident and its fallout as riling career staff, alarming fellow Trump administration appointees, and raising serious concerns about Gottumukkala’s leadership of the nearly $3 billion cyber defense agency.

“Instead of taking ownership and saying, ‘Hey, I screwed up,’ he gets other people blamed and potentially ruins their careers,” said one current official, who described Gottumukkala’s tenure at CISA as “a nightmare.”

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin stated that Gottumukkala “did not fail a sanctioned polygraph test.” She added, “An unsanctioned polygraph test was coordinated by staff, misleading incoming CISA leadership. The employees in question were placed on administrative leave, pending conclusion of an investigation.”

McLaughlin clarified that polygraph examinations must be ordered by leadership with proper authority, noting, “Random bureaucrats can’t just order a polygraph.”

The suspensions come during a turbulent period for CISA, which has faced sweeping personnel and budget cuts under President Donald Trump. Nearly one-third of the agency’s staff have left since January, and some employees were recently given an ultimatum to either take immigration-related roles within DHS or leave the agency.

CISA has also lacked a permanent, Senate-confirmed leader since former Director Jen Easterly resigned in January. Gottumukkala, a former senior IT official in South Dakota under Kristi Noem, was appointed deputy director in May by Noem after she became DHS secretary. As the most senior official at CISA, Gottumukkala currently serves as acting director.