Cyberstrike

U.S. Representative Peter Hoekstra said Thursday that North Korea is likely behind the recent cyber attacks and the appropriate response would be a "show of force or strength."

The Michigan Republican and top GOP member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence told the Washington Times' America's Morning News radio show that President Obama's and previous administrations' soft-touch approach on bringing such rogue nations as Iran and North Korea back to the fold is not working.

"All of these folks believe that through the power of their personality or persuasion they can bring these irrational players to the negotiating table to do rational things," he said. "And they're just wrong."

"Whether it's a counter attack on cyber or more international sanctions, it's time for America, South Korea, Japan and other countries to stand up to North Korea or the next time they'll go in and shut down a banking system ... or manipulate the electrical grid either here or in South Korea," said Mr. Hoekstra, Michigan Republican. "Or they will try and miscalculate, and people will be killed."

U.S. authorities eyed North Korea as the origin of the widespread cyber attack that overwhelmed government Web sites in the United States and South Korea, although they warned it would be difficult to definitively identify the attackers quickly. The Treasury Department and Federal Trade Commission Web sites were shut down by the software attack, which lasted for days over the holiday weekend. Others such as the Pentagon and the White House were able to fend it off with little disruption. The attack targeted dozens of government and private sites and underscored how unevenly prepared the U.S. government is to block such multipronged assaults.

Mr. Hoekstra thinks "the best people in America" investigating the incidents have reached the conclusion that the targets, the broad scale of the attacks and the timing have "all fingers pointing" to North Korea.