Hackers hit U.S. Department of Energy

During a cyberattack on the agency's computers and servers, the personal data of employees and contractors is stolen, but, reportedly, no classified data is leaked.

The U.S. Department of Energy has confirmed that its computer systems were hacked into last month. According to The New York Times, the federal agency sent around an internal e-mail on Friday telling its employees about the cyberattack.

"The Department of Energy has just confirmed a recent cyber incident that occurred in mid-January which targeted the Headquarters' network and resulted in the unauthorized disclosure of employee and contractor Personally Identifiable Information," the e-mail said.

The agency said that it is working to figure out the "nature and scope of the incident" but that so far it believes "no classified data was compromised." It's unclear which divisions within the Department of Energy were attacked or who was behind the hack.

The Department of Energy is in charge of much of the country's vital infrastructure, such as energy production, nuclear reactor production, and radioactive waste disposal. It has troves of classified and sensitive data that if leaked could be detrimental to the country's security. According to Reuters, the most highly classified information is stored on networks that aren't connected to the Internet.

The head of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano recently announced that she believes a wave of cyberattacks on U.S. infrastructure is a serious possibility. Dubbing such an event a "cyber 9/11," Napolitano warned that cyberterrorists could take down the nation's power grid, water infrastructure, transportation networks, and financial networks.

While it doesn't seem like the January cyberattack on the Department of Energy compromised any data or infrastructure, it does show that hackers were able to breach the government's computer systems. In the e-mail, the agency said it is working to fortify itself against future attacks.

"Once the full nature and extent of this incident is known, the Department will implement a full remediation plan," the e-mail said. "The Department is also leading an aggressive effort to reduce the likelihood of these events occurring again. These efforts include leveraging the combined expertise and capabilities of the Department's Joint Cybersecurity Coordination Center to address this incident, increasing monitoring across all of the Department's networks and deploying specialized defense tools to protect sensitive assets."

Adobe mends security holes in Flash, Reader, Acrobat

The software company releases an update designed to patch critical security holes in three of its products.

Security flaws in Adobe Flash, Reader, and Acrobat could have been the cause of computer crashes recently. The software company announced today that it sent out updates for these three programs, which are meant to patch security vulnerabilities that cause such system crashes.

"These updates address a vulnerability that could cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system," the company wrote in a security bulletin today. "Adobe recommends users update their product installations to the latest versions."

Adobe does not give any further detail on the security vulnerabilities but does strongly recommend that users running all versions of Adobe Flash Player for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Android update their programs. Similarly, the company warns that people using Adobe Acrobat and Reader 11.0.0 and earlier versions on Windows and Mac OS X, and Adobe Reader 9.x versions for Linux are at risk.

Adobe launched new versions of Reader and Acrobat in October. The new XI version of Reader beefed up the Protected Mode features of the program, while the latest Acrobat updated text and image editing.

Adobe Reader has been dinged in the past for security holes, requiring the company to push outone patch after another. It seems that despite the new version of the program, Adobe security patches are here to stay.

Touch will be 'mandatory' for next-gen Intel ultrabooks

Get ready for the touch-based ultrabook. If Intel has its way, it will be standard on all future ultrabooks.

Acer touch convertible ultrabook shown today Intel's CES keynote: all future ultrabook designs 
must be touch, Intel said today.

LAS VEGAS--Your next laptop may be touch whether you like it or not.

"To be an ultrabook with 4th generation core [processors], it will be required to have touch," said Kirk Skaugen, vice president of Intel's PC client group at the keynote today, referring to laptops based on Intel's upcoming "Haswell" chip.

That means all ultrabooks coming later this year -- likely in the summer timeframe -- will have touch, not as a feature, but as standard.

This will be a way for suppliers of Windows 8 ultrabooks to demonstrate that they have something that Apple doesn't. Though Apple has a commanding presence with touch phones and tablets, its MacBooks do not offer that capability.

• CES 2013: Intel's press conference live blog

And by mandating this on all future ultrabooks, the Intel camp of PC vendors have a better chance at countering the rise of the iPad, Google's Nexus tablets, and Amazon's Kindle Fire.

Many future ultrabook designs will undoubtedly be able to convert to standalone tablets or mechanically switch to a tablet mode.

And because Haswell will allow thinner designs, their physical dimensions will be less like a traditional laptop and more like a tablet.

Intel also wants to match the battery life of tablets with Haswell. "With the fourth-generation core we'll be able to delver the largest battery life increase, generation on generation, in the history of Intel corporation," Skaugen said.

Intel's next-gen processor will mean more Windows 8 touch laptops like HP's TouchSmart
Spectre XT.

(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)

Toshiba Qosmio X875 adds a new 1TB hybrid hard drive

LAS VEGAS--One of the only 17-inch gaming laptops spotted at CES 2013, the Toshiba Qosmio X875 already stands out from the slim ultrabooks and convertibles we've seen. It goes another step by jumping onto the suddenly hot hybrid hard drive bandwagon, with a new 1TB drive.

Toshiba says the X875 features the "the industry’s first 1 terabyte 2.5-inch high-capacity hybrid hard drive," with "8GB of NAND flash memory as a cache in addition to a 1TB hard drive to support high-speed data throughput." Toshiba says the new drive, which was developed in-house, will reduce read/write times and application start-up times.

Besides the to-be-expected Intel Core i-series processors, the X875 will also feature Nvidia's high-end GeForce GTC 670M graphics card, with 3GB of discrete memory.

Qosmio laptops have always been a little on the extravagant-looking side, and this new model continues that tradition. Toshiba calls the design of the chassis its "sophisticated Black Widow styling," and it features a diamond-textured aluminum shell with a light-up Qosmio logo on the lid.

The 17.3-inch display runs at 1,920x1,080, and a Nividia-powered stereoscopic 3D version will be offered as an option. Harmon Kardon quad speakers are included.

The new Qosmio X875 will be available starting February 3, from $1,479.

Definitive rolls out slick Sound Cylinder Bluetooth speaker

The $199 Sound Cylinder Bluetooth speaker is compatible with any Bluetooth-enabled tablet or smartphone.

LAS VEGAS--Definitive Technology is known for its audiophile-grade loudspeakers. But now it's dipping into the mainstream market with its first Bluetooth speaker, the $199 Sound Cylinder, which is due to ship in the next few weeks.

The speaker has a built-in rechargeable battery that delivers 10 hours of battery life. I got an early look at the speaker, and what makes it unique is its ability to convert from a standalone speaker to a stand for just about any tablet.

The speaker's 'clip' system allows you to 'dock' a tablet (no, it doesn't charge tablets).

While the speaker is somewhat pricey at $199, it has some heft to it and seems well built-in, with a nice finish.

Definitive says, "The grilles are custom perforated aluminum while the 'kickstand' and clamp mechanism parts are injection-molded magnesium alloy, a costly high-tech material that is incredibly strong yet lightweight."

In the demo I got, the Sound Cylinder sounded good for its size and had minimal distortion at higher volumes. While Definitive touts stereo speakers to go along with a side-firing subwoofer, these little speakers just don't offer much in the way of stereo separation.

The back of the speaker has a flip-out stand.

Since this is a Bluetooth speaker you can stream audio to it wirelessly from any Bluetooth-enabled device. It also has an auxiliary input for connecting non-Bluetooth devices with an optional cable.

I look forward to comparing the Sound Cylinder with the other new compact Bluetooth speakers in this price class. There are plenty of them here at CES this year.

The speaker can stand alone by flipping it upside down.

How to customize modifier keys in OS X

With OS X you can use a PC keyboard and still use the same familiar layout of modifier keys that is the default for Apple's systems.

Modifier keys for Mac systems are the Shift, Control, Option (Alt), Command, and Caps Lock keys. The commands triggered by combinations of these keys can greatly speed up how you use your computer, but it can slow you down again if you switch to a keyboard with an unfamiliar layout.

While most Mac keyboards have these keys in the same relative locations, so you don't have to change your typing habits, there are situations in which you may end up using something different, such as if you take a laptop to the office and plug in whatever keyboard you happen to find. For example, on PC keyboards the equivalents of the Option and Command keys (the Alt and Windows keys, respectively) are often swapped in location.

Granted, you can adapt to the changes, or make sure you use the same keyboard type everywhere you go, but an easy alternative in OS X is to customize the system's modifier keys.

Select a keyboard device and then make your adjustments to which modifier keys serve what modifier function. The Windows key will usually map to the OS X Command key by default.

To do this, open the Keyboard system preferences and click the button called "Modifier Keys..." at the lower right. A small window will pop up in which you can select the keyboard attached to your system and assign OS X modifier functions to keys the keyboard's layout. You may only need to swap the mapped Option and Command keys, but you can set others or disable a modifier key if desired.

Keep in mind that these settings are device-specific, so you'll need to set them again for each new keyboard.

Celebrity hacker gets 10 years prison for e-mail hack

After stealing and posting private information from more than 50 celebrities -- including Mila Kunis, Scarlett Johansson, and Christina Aguilera -- Christopher Chaney is sentenced to prison.

The man targeted in "Operation Hackerazzi" is now behind bars.

Hacker Christopher Chaney was sentenced to 10 years in prison today by U.S. District Judge James Otero, according to the Associated Press. Chaney pled guilty to hacking into dozens of celebrities' e-mail accounts and posting their private information on the Internet. Among his victims were Mila Kunis, Scarlett Johansson, Christina Aguilera, Simone Harouche, and Renee Olstead.

"It's hard to fathom the mindset of a person who would accomplish all of this," Otero said, according to the Associated Press. "These types of crimes are as pernicious and serious as physical stalking."

Chaney, 35 of Jacksonville, Fla., was nabbed last year following an 11-month investigation that federal officials named "Operation Hackerazzi." After the bust, Chaney initially pled not guilty, but he later struck a plea deal and ended up agreeing to nine counts, including identity theft, wiretapping, and unauthorized access of protected computers. He also agreed to surrender his computers, external drives, and cell phone.

More than 50 victims from the entertainment industry were connected with the case, but only a handful agreed to be identified by name with the hope of garnering awareness about online information theft. Chaney admitted to hacking into their accounts, obtaining private e-mails and confidential documents, publicizing their personal information, and sending photos to two celebrity Web sites. Some of the photos of Johansson were nude photos she took privately to send to her then-husband Ryan Reynolds.

Chaney gained access to the accounts by using the "Forgot your password?" feature in their e-mail accounts. He then would reset the passwords by answering security questions from public information he found by searching the Web. According to his plea agreement, Chaney received thousands of e-mails from the victims' accounts.

According to the Associated Press, Otero heard a videotaped statement from Johansson, in which she said, "I have been truly humiliated and embarrassed. I find Christopher Chaney's actions to be perverted and reprehensible."

Chaney faced up to 60 years in prison and prosecutors fought to get him at least six. Otero ruled to give him ten years because he believed Chaney would not control his behavior and showed a "callous disregard" for his actions, according to the Associated Press. The judge also ruled that Chaney will get three years of supervised probation after he serves his time.