Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will assist President-elect Donald Trump with understanding cyber security problems in the private sector, Trump’s transition team said Thursday.
“Giuliani will be sharing his expertise and insight as a trusted friend,” the transition team said in a statement.
Trump also will meet with corporate executives of companies that have faced cybersecurity issues, including hacking and theft of data and identities.
“The President-elect’s intent is to obtain experiential and anecdotal information from each executive,” the transition team said. Input from the executives will be used “to help the government plan to make us more secure.”
Giuliani, the chairman of the cybersecurity, privacy and crisis management practice of the law firm Greenberg Traurig, will initiate the process.
The announcement came just one day after Trump gave his first news conference as president-elect. He took questions from reporters about intelligence agencies’ conclusion that Russia had hacked the Democratic National Committee, remarking, “I think it’s Russia. But we also get hacked by other countries and other people, and I can say that.”
He later said that Putin “shouldn’t be doing it” and “won’t be doing it” while Trump is president.
Giuliani removed himself from consideration for the secretary of state position back in December, according to Trump’s transition team. He also told CNN that he had been offered and turned down two other Cabinet positions.
At the time, Trump said in a statement, “He is and continues to be a close personal friend, and as appropriate, I will call upon him for advice and can see an important place for him in the administration at a later date.”
