Karen Evans, the White House’s nominee to head a new cybersecurity office at the Energy Department, has said she plans to address the cyber skills gap at DOE once confirmed, Federal News Radio reported Tuesday.

“If I’m confirmed, DoE could really lead the way through a lot of innovative approaches to identifying talent,” she told lawmakers Tuesday at a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Evans, who serves as national director of the U.S. Cyber Challenge, said she would collaborate with Chris Krebs, undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security’s national protection and programs directorate, and guide DOE as it advances a multi-year roadmap for cybersecurity if confirmed for the post.

“It’s my understanding that in this new role, with the aspect of energy security, that I would be partnering directly with the Department of Homeland Security as it relates to my responsibilities as a sector-specific agency,” she added.

Several military leaders have been named to lead cyber commands at U.S. service branches, Fifth Domain reported Tuesday.

Lt. Gen. Stephen Fogarty, formerly chief of staff of the U.S. Cyber Command, succeeded Gen. Paul Nakasone as head of the Army Cyber Command and commander of Joint Task Force-Ares on June 1.

Nakasone, a 2018 Wash100 recipient, now heads Cybercom and serves as director of the National Security Agency.

The report said Maj. Gen. Matthew Glavy, formerly commander of the 2nd Marine aircraft wing and deputy director of current operations at Cybercom, is scheduled on July 2 to replace Maj. Gen. Lori Reynolds as head of the Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command.

Vice Adm. Timothy White, commander of the Cyber National Mission Force, officially assumed leadership of the U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/U.S. 10th fleet on June 18 after Vice Adm. Michael Gilday moves to the Joint Staff as director of operations.

Maj. Gen. Robert Skinner, deputy commander of the Air Force Space Command, will assume command of the 24th Air Force/Air Forces Cyber in the summer of 2018, the report added.

The U.S. and South Korea stressed during their fourth Information and Communications Technology Policy Forum on June 22 that they will sustain their partnership in modernizing and promoting a safer digital economy.

The two countries said in a statement published Monday they will continue to develop policies that support an efficient, inclusive and transparent virtual environment while protecting privacy and countering disruption, fraud and theft.

During the meeting, the U.S. and Republic of Korea also recognized the need to coordinate with private companies to support new technologies and a growing digital system. The two nations touched on the topics of commercializing 5G mobile communication platforms and adopting artificial intelligence.

The U.S. and South Korea expect to hold their fifth ICT policy forum in Washington, D.C., in 2019.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., has said he considers the security clearance backlog and the lack of a cyber doctrine as national security crises, Federal News Radio reported Monday.

The Senate Intelligence Committee’s vice chairman said Friday at a Northern Virginia Technology Council event that the security clearance process takes 540 days to complete and the government has a clearance backlog of approximately 740,000.

He introduced amendments to the proposed National Defense Authorization Act that would speed up secret clearance investigations within a month and top secret investigations within three months.

Warner, a 2018 Wash100 recipient, has also advanced measures that would direct agencies to disclose the costs of clearances; permit interviews through Skype; and provide access to criminal and college records.

“I’ve had a commitment that we are going to get rid of over 100k backlogged clearances before the end of the year,” he said.

Warner cited the need for the U.S. to have a set of guidelines for cyber warfare and its response as well as the country’s concerns of a potential cyber escalation with near peer adversaries such as Russia and China.