Americans need to calm down and stop blaming Russia for hacking the Democratic National Committee, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said on Thursday.

"I'm somewhat taken aback by the hyperventilation on this," Clapper said at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado. "I'm shocked someone did some hacking," he added sarcastically. "That's never happened before."

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"I think it's illustrative of the need for us as a nation, as a people to be more resilient about these kind of things," Clapper said. "We're in a different era now. I think we're going to be in a state of suppression of extremism in whatever manifestation or form it takes, whether it's al Qaeda or ISIS or some other group that's spawned.

"This is going to be a long-haul proposition, and I think the same is true in the whole realm of cybersecurity," he added. "We have been in somewhat of a reactionary mode, and I think there is ... a growing awareness both on a personal level and an institutional level that this is a profound challenge for the country. I think we just need to accept that, and not be quite so excitable at yet another instance of it."

Asked if analysts in the media and elsewhere were getting ahead of the facts when it came to attributing the attack, Clapper said, "Yes … We don't know enough to ascribe motivation regardless of who it might have been."