Forrester ranked the world’s top SD-WAN companies, and criminals attacked a VoIP phone system.

Our editors have their hands full as we hurtle toward the holidays. There’s much to cover, including drama around layoffs, cybercrime and M&A.

We’ve rounded up the most popular stories from our website in the last week. Read these seven mini-stories before you start your weekend.

7. 128 Technology, Awaiting Juniper Acquisition, Signs Managed SD-WAN Partner

SD-WAN provider 128 Technology selected Granite Telecommunications as a strategic partner.

Granite will deliver 128’s Smart Session Router as part of a managed service. Granite will also monitor the solution through its network operations center.

128 recently caught the attention of Juniper Networks, which is buying the company for $450 million.

Read about why 128 signed with Granite.

6. New, Updated Partner Programs: AT&T, T-Mobile, Cisco, Extreme Networks

Cisco and AT&T both enhanced their channel strategies in recent months.

We covered 13 interesting stories about vendors that have adjusted their channel programs. For example, Nutanix deepened its certification tracks, and Extreme Networks is encouraging the adoption of managed services.

Check out the updates.

5. IT Job Market Wouldn’t Like Another COVID-19 Shutdown

Janco Associates assessed the state of IT jobs in its latest tracker. And the assessment ain’t all that positive.

Janco CEO Victor Janulaitis projected 65,000 IT professionals to go out of work by the end of this year. He pointed to the massive number of SMBs that shutdowns have impacted.

Edward Gately has the scoop.

4. BT-RingCentral Partnership to Expand Cloud-Based Communications in UK

The U.K. based service provider signed an agreement with the U.S.-based UCaaS provider.

RingCentral will provide Cloud Work, a communications offering featuring voice, video and team messaging, to business customers in the U.K. The announcement builds on an existing relationship between the two companies.

Read about the partnership.

3. Check Point: Hackers Exploiting Asterisk VoIP, Sangoma PBX Globally

Criminals went after the world’s most popular VoIP phone system, according to a new report.

Check Point Software Technologies discovered an attack on Asterisk VoIP. Check Point said the threat actors intended to sell customers’ phone numbers, call plans and other assets. They also gained access to VoIP services.

“By manipulating the VoIP system to conduct outgoing calls, organizations were exposed to pay extraordinary charges on their telephone expenses,” a Check Point executive said.

Get details on the research.

2. Forrester SD-WAN Study Gives High Marks to AT&T, Verizon, Aryaka

The research firm scrutinized 10 SD-WAN companies for their offering, strategy and market presence.

Two non-American companies led Forrester’s leaderboard, which provided a useful view of the global SD-WAN market. In the meantime, familiar names like AT&T, Verizon and Aryaka appeared in the next best category.

Read about the study.

1. New Services Roundup: Cisco, RingCentral, Comcast, Zoom

What do a master agent, a UCaaS provider and an internet service provider share in common? Each company made a new offering available to the channel last month.

We covered a variety of product and service announcements in our monthly services recap. That includes Lumen‘s DDoS protection expansion and Viasat‘s VoIP play.

Check out the gallery.