"We need to take action and we will," he told U.S. radio station NPR, the BBC wrote.
"I think there's no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact on the integrity of our elections, that we need to take action and we will, at a time and a place of our own choosing.
"Some of it may be explicit and publicized. Some of it may not be.
"Mr. Putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because I spoke to him directly about it."
Read alsoSecret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win White House – mediaIt is not clear what action the U.S. intends to take, with Mr. Obama leaving office on January 20.
Russia stands accused by the U.S. of hacking the emails of the Democratic Party and a key Hillary Clinton aide, which the Kremlin strongly denies.
Republican president-elect Donald Trump has also dismissed the claim as "ridiculous" and politically motivated.
The intelligence agencies say they have overwhelming evidence that Russian hackers linked to the Kremlin were behind the hacks.
And on Thursday, a White House spokesman said President Vladimir Putin was involved in the cyber-attacks.
