Although currently unclear on how the Bush administration would go about denying the Internet to its enemies, cyberspace may become a more active battlefield in the war on terrorism. The new National Strategy for Homeland Security, issued earlier this week by the White House, places a greater emphasis on the "uninterrupted use of the Internet and the communications systems, data, monitoring, and control systems that comprise our cyberinfrastructure." The government"s 2006 National Infrastructure Protection Plan acknowledges the need to better secure cyberspace and also suggests that defensive actions will be accompanied by offensive measures.
Whatever its plan for cyberspace, the Bush administration describes the Internet as a tool for the nation"s enemies and as a source of vulnerability. The document reads: "The Internet has become a training ground, with terrorists acquiring instruction once possible only through physical training camps. In addition to discrediting their terrorist propaganda on the Internet with the promotion of truthful messages, we will seek to deny the Internet to our terrorist enemies as an effective safe haven for their recruitment, fund-raising, training, and operational planning."