Several US federal agencies are unprepared to protect the personal information of everyday Americans should they become the target of a cyberattack, according to a new report put together by the Senate Homeland Security Committee. The panel found that out of eight federal bodies, including the departments of State, Transportation and Education, only Homeland Security complied with the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA), an Obama-era law Congress passed to enable the US government to better respond to online threats.

"All agencies failed to comply with statutory requirements to certify to Congress they have implemented certain key cybersecurity requirements including encryption of sensitive data, least privilege and multi-factor authentication," the report said.

As The Record points out, one of the more glaring oversights the panel found was that the State Department left thousands of employee accounts on its classified and unclassified networks active even after those individuals left the agency. In another particularly worrisome example, the Department of Agriculture had vulnerabilities on its websites that it wasn't aware of. What's more, at least seven of the eight agencies the panel audited were using outdated and unsupported IT systems, leaving them vulnerable to attacks. "It is clear that the data entrusted to these eight agencies remains at risk," the report said.

"From SolarWinds to recent ransomware attacks against critical infrastructure, it's clear that cyberattacks are going to keep coming," Senator Rob Portman, the panel's top Republican, said on Twitter. "It is unacceptable that our own federal agencies are not doing everything possible to safeguard America's data. I am concerned that many of these vulnerabilities have been outstanding for the better part of a decade — the American people deserve better."

Among other recommendations, the report highlights the need for a single agency to oversee federal cybersecurity. To that end, the panel suggests Congress update the Federal Information Security Modernization Act to make the law better reflect current cybersecurity practices and establish the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency as the federal lead for those types of issues. It also recommends amending FISMA to require agencies to notify both CISA and, in some instances, Congress when they become entangled in a major incident.

Boeing finally has a chance to redeem itself after its first Starliner test flight went awry, and you can watch as it happens. NASA is launching Starliner Orbital Flight Test-2 from Cape Canaveral today (August 3rd) at 1:20PM Eastern, with a livestream available from NASA's YouTube channel (below) starting at 12:30PM ET. If successful, the unoccupied spacecraft will deliver over 400lbs of cargo to the International Space Station before returning to Earth with 550lbs of material.

Starliner will start an orbital insertion burn about 30 minutes after launch. You'll have to be patient after that, though. The capsule isn't expected expected to dock with the ISS until August 4th at 1:37PM ET, and will touch down in the western US after its "daylong" mission.

The vessel was originally supposed to launch on July 30th, but was delayed after the new Russian ISS module Nauka accidentally activated and forced a correction.

Much depends on a successful flight. Boeing and NASA will follow a successful test with six crew rotation missions. For Boeing, this is also about pride. SpaceX beat Boeing to the punch by successfully launching a crewed capsule in 2020, and is already performing crewed operational flights. The sooner Starliner is cleared to launch with people aboard, the sooner Boeing can catch up and play a key role in the privatization of spaceflight.

A few months after it introduced new Touch ID-enabled Magic Keyboards along with M1 Macs, Apple is now selling the peripheral separately. The Magic Keyboard with Touch ID costs $149, while a version with a number pad can be all yours for $179. It's worth noting the Touch ID functions only work on M1-powered Macs.

Along with helping you log in to your Mac without having to punch in a password, you can use Touch ID to verify Apple Pay transactions. For now, the standalone version of the Magic Keyboard is only available in the standard silver and white color scheme. You won’t be able to snag it in one of those funky M1 iMac-inspired designs without shelling out for a new computer. 

Apple

Apple has also refreshed several other Magic accessories. The standard $99 Magic Keyboard now has keys for Spotlight, dictation, do not disturb and emoji, as do the Touch ID-equipped models. The $129 Magic Trackpad, meanwhile, has a tweaked shape to match the Magic Keyboard. 

All of these accessories, as well as the $79 Magic Mouse, now come with a braided USB-C to Lightning cable rather than the old Lightning to USB-A one. Apple says the accessories can run for around a month, if not longer, on a single charge.

Blizzard Entertainment's leadership is in upheaval following a California lawsuit over sexual discrimination and harassment. Studio president J. Allen Brack, who was named in the lawsuit, is "stepping down" from his role. Executive development VP Jen Oneal and GM Mike Ybarra (also a former Xbox executive) will take his place as co-leaders.

The company didn't formally explain the exit, but indicated a desire to change company culture. It said that Oneal and Ybarra would strive to make Blizzard the "most welcoming workplace possible" and help with "rebuilding your trust."

Brack previously said in a company email (shared by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier) that he was against harassment and "bro culture." As Massively Overpowerednoted, though, California accused Brack of taking "no effective remedial measures" to curb sexual harassment at the company. The executive allegedly held multiple conversations with employee Alex Afrasiabi about his drinking and harassment of women, but didn't offer much more than counselling in an attempt to correct the behavior.

There was certainly pressure on Blizzard to change leadership. Workers balked at the developer's dismissive initial response to the lawsuit, prompting a walkout protest. Activision Blizzard chief Bobby Kotick even labeled the early reaction as "tone deaf" and promised quick action to improve company culture. In that light, Brack's departure isn't surprising at all — it's one of the fastest and easiest actions the company could take.

Didn’t get an invite from Microsoft to the Halo Infinite technical preview? That’s okay. The company has a consolation prize for you. Microsoft and 343 Industries have partnered with Waze to bring the Master Chief and Escharum, his Banished foil in Infinite’s upcoming story campaign, to the navigation app. For a limited time, you can give Waze a Halo makeover.

As part of the experience, you can have the voice of either Master Chief or Escharum provide you with directions. It’s also possible to change your car’s live map icon to either a Warthog or Ghost and update your profile “mood” to feature the visage of the Spartan or alien war chief. Waze didn’t say how long the experience will run, but you can enable it by navigating to the “My Waze” section of the app and selecting the Halo banner.

Following an online pilot in the fall of 2020 with Maricopa County Community College District, Intel is expanding its AI for Workforce Program to include 18 additional schools in 11 states, including California, New Mexico and Michigan. With the expansion, more than 800,000 students can take part in a curriculum designed by the company, at the end of which they can earn a certificate or associate degree in artificial intelligence.

The program includes courses on data collection, computer vision, model training, coding and AI ethics. In addition to designing the curriculum, Intel has provided training and technical advice to the college faculty involved in the program. Dell is also helping with technical and infrastructure expertise.

According to Carlos Contreras, senior director of AI and digital readiness at Intel, the program consists of four parts. In the initial “Awareness” section, a teacher introduces students to some of the “possibilities” and “issues” around AI, with an emphasis on class discussion. The following two parts involve a lot of hands-on learning while students are gradually introduced to the technical skills they need to become proficient in the field. The final part of the program, “Capstone,” sees students asked to create and present projects that use AI to impact society.

For Intel, the company says working with community colleges offers a chance to “democratize AI technology.” Citing data from the American Association of Community Colleges, the company notes they attract people from various backgrounds and walks of life. But as with most programs of this type, it’s also an opportunity for the company to find candidates in a demanding field. It’s no accident then Intel plans to expand the program to include 50 more schools by 2022.

In 2020, I found out just how solid a pair of $29 true wireless earbuds could be. JLab's Go Air covers all the basics even though they lack the polish of more expensive sets. For its latest buds, the Go Air Pop, the company is taking things a step further with better battery life and a fully enclosed charging case. JLab cut the price even more too: these earbuds will only cost you $20. 

Like the Go Air, you'll get all of the core functionality of true wireless earbuds with the Go Air Pop. That includes on-board touch controls, the ability to use either earbud independently, EQ presets and IPX4 moisture resistance. The overall design of the buds is also similar, although JLab says the Go Air Pop is 15 percent smaller and 40 percent lighter than the Go Air. 

JLab

The biggest differences are the case and the battery life. The Go Air comes in an open case with an attached USB cable that tucks in the bottom. The integrated plug is back on the Go Air Pop, but the case has a lid like almost every other set of true wireless buds. JLab extended battery life to eight hours on the buds themselves, up from five on the Go Air. The case will give you three additional charges before you'll need to plug the whole set in. 

JLab isn't the only company cranking out sub-$30 true wireless earbuds. Skullcandy debuted the $25 Dime back in March, a set of buds with a more AirPod-like design. The Dime can only muster three and a half hours on a charge, but it does offer on-board controls and IPX4 water resistance for your workouts. 

The Go Air Pop will ship in late August. When it does, you can choose between black, lilac, rose, slate and teal color options. 

Ever since Apple's MagSafe made its grand return by way of the iPhone 12 series, it was only a matter of time before other phone makers came up with similar — and maybe better — solutions. Realme, the sister brand of Oppo and OnePlus, has announced its very own "MagDart" magnetic wireless charging system as part of its latest concept phone, the Flash.

Realme

Not only is MagDart the first of its kind in the Android world, it's also more powerful than Apple's MagSafe, with its maximum output rated at 50W instead of just 15W. This 50W magnetic charger leverages Realme's speedy 65W SuperDart charging tech — a rebranded version of Oppo's SuperVOOC and OnePlus' Warp Charge 65 — and has its own air-cooling system for maximum performance. Realme claims that the charging speed here is almost on par with its 50W SuperDart wired charger. Specifically, for the 4,500mAh battery inside the Realme Flash, it'll go from zero to 100 percent in under an hour.

The downside of this 50W MagDart charger is its bulkiness, but Realme will also offer a slim 15W MagDart charging pad — one that's a tad thinner than Apple's MagSafe charger. This design is mainly thanks to having the circuit board tucked away in the plug, which also keeps the charging coil cooler for higher efficiency. For the same phone, this will take about 90 minutes to go from zero to 100 percent.

Naturally, the MagDart ecosystem offers a few other snap-on accessories as well. There's a MagDart power bank which one-ups the MagSafe Battery Pack by doubling as a wireless charging stand, so you can charge or grab both the phone and the power bank simultaneously.

Realme

There's also a MagDart Beauty Light, which is a flip-up ring light — consisting of 60 mini LEDs, with adjustable brightness and color temperature — to keep your selfie game strong. Interestingly, this kit is powered by the phone's reverse wireless charging feature.

Another handy accessory here is the self-explanatory MagDart Wallet, which holds up to three credit cards in its vegan leather pockets. Though unlike the MagSafe version, this one adds an aluminum kickstand to your phone as well.

Last but not least, existing Realme GT users can get a special case to make their phone MagDart-compatible, though this will add a slight bulge near the bottom on the back side.

There's no word on when we will see the first MagDart-compatible devices on the market just yet, but when that happens, chances are future products from Oppo and OnePlus will get to share the love with Realme (unless Apple gets in the way, of course). But if you use a pacemaker, then you'll probably want to avoid those also.

You can now grab the first-gen Echo Show 5 for $45 on Amazon, if you didn't get the chance to do so on Prime Day in June and on Black Friday last year. The Alexa-powered smart display is also currently available for $45 on Best Buy, but you now have another option if you'd rather purchase it from Amazon for Prime shipping or any other reason. While you can get a refurbished version for less elsewhere, this is the lowest price we've seen for a brand new device that originally retails for $80.

Buy Amazon Echo Show 5 (1st Gen) at Amazon - $45

At $45, that also makes this smart display $45 cheaper than the second-gen Echo Show 5. And, as we mentioned in our review of the newer device, its changes are pretty minor. Instead of a one-megapixel camera, you now get 2 megapixels, which isn't that much of an upgrade. The newer smart display also comes in a light blue option, while its predecessor is only available in black and white. That's pretty much it, though — the display's resolution remains the same, and it still doesn't come with features its bigger counterpart, the Echo Show 8, has.

As we said in our review for the first-gen Echo Show 5, it's meant for those who want a smaller Amazon smart display that's also a decent alarm clock. It has a sunrise alarm feature, which slowly brightens the screen 15 minutes before the time you set, and it has ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts the screen's brightness based on your surroundings. You can also use it to display photos and watch videos, though, if you don't mind the smaller screen. The device supports Amazon Prime, NBC and Hulu, and you can always access YouTube using its built-in browsers.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Amazon is offering $10 in promotional credit to get people to sign up to its palm print payments system. Our sister site TechCrunch spotted the promotional offer and shared a screenshot of it, which you can peep below. The retailer launched Amazon One last fall as a contactless way of authenticating purchases and allowing entry into stores using a biometric device. In this case, a palm scanner. With surface hygiene a major concern during the pandemic, the move made sense. 

Since then, Amazon has expanded the system to 53 of its physical retail spots in places including New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Texas. You can find the tech at Amazon Go convenience stores, Whole Foods Market, Amazon Go Grocery, Amazon Books, Amazon 4-star stores and Amazon Pop Ups. 

Shoppers can enroll on Amazon One at those sites by pairing their credit card and mobile number with one or both of their palm signatures. The sign-up process is the only part that requires you to touch the device. After that, you just hover your palm over the scanner to enter a store and complete purchases. The promotion also requires you to link your Amazon account with your One ID.

The limited number of Amazon One locations means that the promo will be restricted to a small circle of users. But, if Amazon gets its way, the system be hard to avoid in a contactless, check-out free future. It's already begun discussions to offer the tech to third-party retailers.

Amazon / TechCrunch

Of course, the idea of handing over more data (especially biometric information) to Amazon may not sit right with some people. Chances are, a $10 voucher won't sway the naysayers put off by the horror stories around Amazon's facial recognitiontech and Alexa voice recordings. 

But, Amazon is aware of the privacy concerns the device raises. To assuage those fears, the company has promised to secure palm data using encryption, data isolation and dedicated secure zones with restricted access controls. For those worried their data could be monetized, it also committed to keeping palm data separate from other Amazon customer data. 

The company says that a subset of "anonymous" palm data is used to improve its system and this data is "protected using multiple layers of security controls." Amazon has also pledged to delete the data if you cancel your Amazon One ID and if you haven't interacted with one of its palm scanners for two years.