Biden Clarified To Putin US Cyber Capabilities In Geneva - White House's Sullivan

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th June, 2021) US President Joe Biden clarified to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin American cyber capabilities and his "full willingness" to use them if Russia fails to deter criminals operating from its territory from attacking the country's critical infrastructures, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said.

"I won't go into further detail now but President Biden did clarify to President Putin our capacities and his full willingness to use them if necessary depending on how things develop," Sullivan told CNN on Thursday.

During their meeting in Geneva both leaders agreed to start cooperation on cybersecurity following a series of ransomware attacks on US companies allegedly carried out by Russian-based hackers.

Biden passed to Putin a list of 16 entities designated as "critical infrastructure" and demanded that they should be off limits for any cyberintrusions.

"We have significant capacities in cyberdomain and in other domains and the President is prepared to use them if it turns out that Russia cannot control the criminals operating from its soil," Sullivan quoted Biden as saying in both private and public settings.

He added that this was not a threat or ultimatum, but an indication of readiness to take action in defense of US critical infrastructure.