The following is an op-ed written by Edward Snowden, a retired systems administrator.

Last month, America fought its first cyber war and lost before it even started.

North Korea's hacking of Sony's computer networks — which the press initially passed off as "just" some data leakage — is now known to have been a much more destructive attack by malicious software, or "malware." I know something about data leakage from my time as a systems administrator, and I can safely say this North Korean attack is totally off the charts.

President Obama has hinted at possible retaliation, such as sanctions on North Korea, indictments against North Korean hackers, or increased support for South Korea. But these are only half-measures. The only way to fight fire is with fire, and when it comes to a cyber-power like North Korea what we really need is some sort of intelligence agency with massive surveillance and collection capabilities.