Obama touts U.S. cybersecurity strength after meeting with Putin

HANGZHOU, China, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama said Monday at the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, that the United States is more prepared for in terms of cybersecurity than Russia, other countries.

Speaking after a 90-minute conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Obama said of the United States, "We're moving into a new era here where a number of countries have significant capacities."

"Frankly, both offensively and defensively, we have more capacity."

He added, "We've had problems with cyber intrusions from Russia and other countries in the past."

Obama said he would not comment on "specific investigations that are still live and active," an apparent reference to a computer breach of the Democratic National Committee, which some U.S. officials have blamed on Russia.

Obama also said he and Putin spoke in generalities about cybersecurity and emphasized that "the goal is not to duplicate in the cyber area the cycle of escalation" which has complicated the solution to other problems. He added the United States' focus is on "instituting some norms so that everybody's acting responsibly."