Nick Andersen named acting CISA chief amid leadership shakeup

Nick Andersen has been appointed acting director of the United States’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), according to SecurityWeek. Andersen, who until now served as executive assistant director for cybersecurity at CISA, is replacing Madhu Gottumukkala, who joined the agency in May 2025 when named deputy director and is leaving to become director of strategic implementation at the Department of Homeland Security.

Politico reported last week that Gottumukkala failed a polygraph test and uploaded sensitive government information to a public version of ChatGPT, according to Politico. Andersen has held leadership roles in government and private sector organisations, including stints at the Department of Energy, the White House, the Coast Guard, the Navy, and the State of Vermont, and prior positions as president and chief operating officer at Invictus and as CISO at Lumen Technologies’ public-sector arm.

CISA has not had a permanent director in the second Trump administration, with Sean Plankey nominated to lead the agency and a recent reshuffle noted by Politico.