Biden already had talked about the cyber-attacks emanating from Russia when he met with Putin roughly three weeks ago. His method then, he said, was to list 16 different entities that should be off-limits for an attack, in effect delineating areas which enemies of the United States might regard as a wish-list.
Biden stated:
Another area we spent a great deal of time on was cyber and cybersecurity. I talked about the proposition that certain critical infrastructure should be off limits to attack — period — by cyber or any other means. I gave them a list, if I’m not mistaken — I don’t have it in front of me — 16 specific entities; 16 defined as critical infrastructure under U.S. policy, from the energy sector to our water systems.
Political commentator Stephen Miller mocked Biden: “Whatever you do please do not attack these 16 critical pieces of US infrastructure,” Miller quipped. “Please.”
