In a conversation with NHPR’s The Exchange, Republican presidential candidate and former technology executive Carly Fiorina called for a more aggressive response when other countries wage cyberattacks on the United States.
“When the Iranians disrupt our infrastructure by tapping into our dams, we need to go do the same. When the Chinese steal the personal information of 23 million American citizens by hacking into the office of personnel management, we need to respond with an attack that is equally substantial," Fiorina said. "It is the only way. If bad behavior occurs and we do nothing in response, we get more bad behavior. And that’s what we’re seeing around the world today.”
Fiorina also said the federal government should do more to collaborate with private companies to adapt to a changing tech landscape and better identify potential security threats.
Specifically, she said, “there are a number of legal authorities that congress must pass in order to ensure that public sector networks and private sector networks and people can collaborate together to detect and repel cyberattacks.”
“We’re losing the war in cyberspace,” Fiorina continued. “Not because we’re not the most sophisticated technological nation on the planet, but because we don’t have those legal authorities in place, number one I would get them passed, number two because our government is probably seven generations of technology behind.”
You can listen to the full conversation with Fiorina online here.