Channel Brief: Cisco Layoffs Loom, MSFT Reports Election Hack

Happy Monday, everyone! It’s Jessica C. Davis here, and I’m filling in for Sharon Florentine on Channel Brief this week while she enjoys some well-deserved time off.

We start off with some more news of layoffs out of Silicon Valley. Last week we told you about some huge layoffs planned at Intel, and this week we are hearing that Cisco will be making a big layoff announcement, most likely timed to its Q4 earnings announcement mid-week. We’ll keep you updated.

Meanwhile, you may have also heard about a hack to the U.S. presidential campaign of former president Donald Trump. On Friday, Microsoft released a report fingering an Iranian group as the perpetrator of a spear phishing attack on a high-ranking official of a presidential campaign. We’re sure that this campaign hack is not the first nor will it be the only attempt.

Plus we’ve got a ton of industry news for you including partnerships and acquisitions. So grab your coffee and buckle in for the news MSPs need to know to start the day on Monday, August 12, 2024.

Today’s Tech, Channel and MSP News

1. More Layoffs - Cisco will cut thousands of jobs in a second round of layoffs for 2024 as the networking equipment maker shifts to focus on higher-growth area including cybersecurity and AI, according to a Reuters report citing sources. This round could be similar or higher than the 4000 laid off in February and will be announced as early as Wednesday with the company’s Q4 results.

2. Election Interference - Microsoft researcher report that Iran government tied hackers tried breaking into the account of a “high ranking official” on the U.S. presidential campaign in June. It’s part Iranian groups’ increasing attempts to influence the U.S. presidential election, according to a Reuters report.

3. SIEM Distribution Partnership - Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) provider Securonix, Inc. has forged a new partnership with global distributor TD Synnex to distribute Securonix’s AI-Reinforced SIEM platform to its solution provider network. The partnership significantly expands the market reach of Securonix EON, which introduces advanced AI capabilities. 

4. Distribution Acquisition - Value added global IT distribution company Climb Global Solutions, Inc. is acquiring Douglas Stewart Software & Services, LLC (“DSS”), a separate division of the privately held Douglas Stewart Company. DSS is a Wisconsin-based, leading specialty distributor focused on SaaS solutions for education customers in North America. The acquisition enhances Climb’s presence in the region and bolsters its product portfolio, the company said. Climb closed on the acquisition of DSS for an aggregate purchase price of $20.3 million payable at closing (subject to working capital and other adjustments), plus a potential post-closing earn-out. Climb funded the acquisition of DSS utilizing cash from the its own balance sheet.

5. SOAR Provider Adds AI - D3, a Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) specialist, has released Ace AI, a collection of new capabilities for D3’s Smart SOAR platform that applies AI to make security operations faster and more intuitive. D3 has also introduced announced its Legacy SOAR Migration Program, which enables organizations to move from underperforming SOAR tools to D3’s Smart SOAR in record time, with minimal burden on their team, the company said.

6. Phishing Intelligence - KnowBe4, a security awareness training and simulated phishing platform provider, has announced the results of its Q2 2024 phishing report. The results include the top email subjects clicked on in phishing tests showing HR business-related messages are still provoking the most action from employees leading to potentially harmful results.  

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