A good way to tell whether a "cybersecurity expert" truly knows something about cybersecurity is to take a look at their website, assuming they have one.
Does the site look like something coded for a middle school project? If so, you might want to be skeptical.
If, for example, thenewly appointed informal cybersecurity advisor to President-elect Donald Trump has a company website that looks like it was built after a handful of coding classes, it makes sense to doubt his expertise.
SEE ALSO: Trump finally gives Rudy Giuliani a job ... kind of
Folks on the internet immediately denounced the cybersecurity chops of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was announced as an informal cyber advisor to Trump on Thursday.
Giuliani runs a management firm called Giuliani Partners that houses a company branch allegedly dealing with security services. The company's website was, laughably, down at time of writing.
Users on Twitter were quick to point out the site's multiple flaws.
Giuliani Security has a completely exposed admin login. pic.twitter.com/QIPF9Ewmzm
― Michael Fienen (@fienen) January 12, 2017
Giuliani Security:
- Expired SSL
- Doesn't force https
- Exposed CMS login
- Uses Flash
- Using EOL php version
- SSL Lab grade of F
― Michael Fienen (@fienen) January 12, 2017
Chrome sums up Giuliani's ability as a security advisor https://t.co/b8JUYuMhYD pic.twitter.com/no6yGXHEbs
― maxwell ogden (@denormalize) January 13, 2017
Probably not a good sign.
Another not great sign: The website, when it was up, didn't seem to detail any of the firm's cybersecurity work.
It offered generic descriptions of what they would theoretically do for clients, but didn't mention who its cyber "experts" are nor did it list any of its former or current clients. From that lack of information, the next question is obvious: Does Giuliani know anything about cybersecurity?
Congratulations to Rudy Giuliani for being named Trump's Cyber Security Advisor. I look forward to watching you try to say it.
― Jim Norton (@JimNorton) January 12, 2017
Good luck to Giuliani on his new cyber security role! #RudyGiuliani pic.twitter.com/N7jBkQ1mLr
― Full Frontal (@FullFrontalSamB) January 12, 2017
Maybe not. But he does know about mingling government and business, something which others have pointed out.
In talks in with ppl in gov contracting who can't be public. Convinced Giuliani cyber is a cheap "contract-bait" offshoot from actual biz.
― SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) January 13, 2017
Alright then. Making America Safe Again starts here...
BONUS: Even Fox News is defending CNN against Trump