WASHINGTON (CBSDC) — A former CIA official is concerned there could be copycat attacks following the terrorist attack against a French satirical newspaper that left at least 12 people dead.

Mike Morell, the former deputy director of the CIA and current CBS News security contributor, told “CBS This Morning” that defenses need to be increased following the attack at the Charlie Hebdo headquarters in Paris.

“The two most important things are number one, find the perpetrators, and number two is to buckle down, increase your defenses, because one of the things that happens in these kind of situations are copycat attacks,” Morell said. “And you need to worry about copycat attacks not only in France, but in the rest of the world – and I would even say in the broader world to include the United States. That’s something people are going to have to worry about in the next several days.”

Three gunmen opened fire at the satirical newspaper’s headquarters in Paris, killing 12 people, including a police officer execution-style as he lay wounded in the street. They have yet to be caught.

Morell noted that authorities will need to determine if the gunmen – who were heard yelling the Arabic phrase “Allahu Akbar” during the attack – were self-radicalized or were given orders to commit the terror attack.

“What we have to figure out here is the perpetrators and whether they were self-radicalized, or whether they were individuals who fought in Syria and Iraq and came back, or whether they were actually directed by ISIS or by al Qaeda,” Morell told “CBS This Morning.” “So a lot to figure out here but this is clearly a terrorist attack and one of the worst we’ve seen in a long time.”

Morell added that this is the worst terrorist attack committed in Europe since the London bombings killed 52 people in July 2005.

“The motive here is absolutely clear – trying to shut down a media organization that lampooned the Prophet Muhammad. So no doubt in my mind this was terrorism,” Morell said.

President Barack Obama strongly condemned the attack in a statement released by the White House.

“I strongly condemn the horrific shooting at the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris that has reportedly killed 12 people,” Obama said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this terrorist attack and the people of France at this difficult time.”

The terror alert in Paris’ metro area was raised to its highest level following the attack.