What's government's role in making the Web secure?

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Below is an interesting article about the government's role with web security. Should the government have the power to shut down the Internet if a cyber attack occurs? Obviously, this would not be as easy as turning off a switch to shut down the Internet, but it is interesting to think about government's position with the Web. Government now has to consider how it would handle this possibility. "McAfee points out that there may be as many as 10% of the world's computers infected with a 'botnet', which is an army of computers used by someone without the owners' knowledge." It is scary to consider an American virtual attack occurring, but it must be explored and discussed. Is it the government's place to control the Internet, or should it be left up to the companies that control it? This is an on-going question that is being explored in the House and Senate as well as in private industry. This is a very important issue that must be decided in order to protect Americans. Maybe the government should direct the necessity for an internet shut down, but the businesses that control the sites would be held accountable for the actual shut down. It'll be interesting to follow the progress.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090927/ap_on_go_ot/us_securing_the_internet