Sen. Angus King, a member of the Senate's Select Committee on Intelligence, said he is worried about the increasing prevalence of hacking and other cyber-attacks.
"My concern is that the next Pearl Harbor could be cyber," King said during an appearance on CNN's "New Day."
King, a Maine Independent, said that cyber security "has been a really hot discussion around here for the last year or so."
The U.S. is "on the defensive," by putting in patches and increasing security, and King said the U.S. must take proactive measures:
"The idea that you're going into a fight, and all you're going to do is duck and dodge, and never punch back, I think, invites aggression on the other side."
The senator agreed with Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton that there must be consequences.
"I call it Deterrence 2.0. We need some deterrence to other countries. If you mess around in our systems—our power systems, electric systems, natural gas—there are going to be consequences, there are going to be results."
The response has to be measured and in line with the threat, according to the senator.
"We can't start World War III in cyber over some minor intrusion," King said.
Maine Public Broadcasting reported King's claim that the U.S. is the most likely victim of cyber attacks.
The Internet "gives us fantastic efficiencies and productivity and advantages in many ways, but the bad news is we are the most wired society on Earth, so we are the most vulnerable," King said.
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