Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani will take on an advisory role in Donald Trump’s administration regarding cybersecurity issues, the President-elect’s transition team said Thursday.
“Rudy Giuliani will be sharing his expertise and insight as a trusted friend concerning private sector cyber security problems and emerging solutions developing in the private sector,” Trump’s transition team said in a statement.
As part of the role, Giuliani will chair a group of cybersecurity experts and business executives designed to help familiarized people in the highest levels of government with how private sector officials are combatting similar problems.
“The President-elect will be hosting a series of meetings with senior corporate executives from companies which have faced or are facing challenges similar to those facing the government and public entities today, such as hacking, intrusions, disruptions, manipulations, theft of data and identities, and securing information technology infrastructure,” Trump’s transition team said.
“The idea here is to bring together corporate leaders and their technological people,” Giuliani, who after leaving Gracie Mansion founded a security consulting business, explained Thursday during an interview on “Fox and Friends.” “The president will meet with them on an ongoing basis, as well as anybody else in the administration.”
Cybersecurity has emerged as a critical issue facing the highest levels of government. Throughout the 2016 campaign, Russian hackers penetrated emails accounts of high level Democratic operatives, a plot that intelligence officials have said helped Trump win.
Giuliani, already an informal adviser to and surrogate for Trump, will not be given a title for the role.
The former New York mayor had been a consistent advocate and spokesperson for Trump throughout his campaign and had, in the days following the mogul’s win, been expected to be rewarded with a cabinet or cabinet-level post inside the administration.
At various times, Giuliani appeared to be under consideration for either the secretary of state post, the director of national intelligence post and the Attorney General and head of Homeland Security jobs.
But in December he withdrew his name from consideration for any post.
A Wall Street Journal report later that month claimed that Trump passed on asking Giuliani, 72, to be his top diplomat because he lacked the stamina for the globe-trotting job.
Source: www.nydailynews.com
