Trump hires Rudy Giuliani to advise on cybersecurity as a 'trusted friend'

(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

published 12 January 2017

On Thursday, President-elect Donald Trump finally revealed what role former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will play in his administration. Giuliani — once thought to be a contender for secretary of state or attorney general — will be advising Trump on issues of cybersecurity, Trump said in a statement.

Specifically, Trump's transition team said Giuliani will offer "expertise and insight as a trusted friend" on "private sector cybersecurity problems and emerging solutions developing in the private sector." Giuliani, chairman of the global cybersecurity practice at Greenberg Traurig and chairman and CEO at security consulting firm Giuliani Partners, has worked on security solutions in the private sector for the past 16 years.

In an interview Thursday morning on Fox & Friends, Giuliani indicated he'll be heading up an entire team of private tech company executives. "It's his belief, which I share, that a lot of the solutions are out there, we're just not sharing them," Giuliani said, explaining Trump's stance on cybersecurity. "It's like cancer. You know, there's cancer research going on all over the place — you'd almost wish they’d get together in one room and maybe we'd find a cure."