Though 2014 has come and gone, one trend that dominated its headlines has unfortunately continued to do the same this year. So, what happens to an organization's cybersecurity readiness plan when there aren't enough security professionals to protect the network? What are the tested security strategies that can help organizations prepare, manage, respond to and recover from incidents in a quick and effective manner?

During our next#CiscoChat, we'll seek to answer these questions and invite you to share your thoughts and solutions with us. #CiscoChat is a program where industry experts answer your questions and participate in an open discussion on a particular topic.  Everyone is welcome to join simply by searching the hashtag#CiscoChat on Twitter and including it in your tweets to be seen by others participating.

According to IDC, security breaches cost companies nearly$500 billion in 2014. From Snowshoe Spam to Flash and JavaScript exploits, attackers have been relentless in developing new techniques to gain cyber footholds. Understandably, the world's attention is focused on cybersecurity like never before, prompting even government officials at the highest levels to weigh in on the subject.

In studies conducted by Cisco, we've learned that 75 percent of all cyber attacks take just minutes to begin data exfiltration -but take far longer to detect. Surprisingly, studies also show that there is a widening gap in perceptions on security capabilities, despite a constant barrage of headline-generating attacks.  These factors have made preventing security attacks increasingly difficult, but not impossible. An "all-hands-on-deck" approach to defend against cyber-attacks can be effective as organizations improve their protective approaches.

Be sure to join us on Twitter for#CiscoChat: Incident Response in a Complex ThreatEnvironment on Tuesday, April 21 from 2 to 3 p.m. PST/ 11am to Noon EST.  Just search for the hashtag#CiscoChat to find the conversation.

Our featured panelists include:

• Harlan Parrot,a Cisco Customer Solutions Director, is an IT executive offering a unique combination of 12+ years' experience ranging from Fortune 50 Cybersecuity leadership and advisory, Fortune 100 functional leadership, Big Four Consulting, and software product management. He demonstrates specialized technical expertise with cybersecurity and identity and access management technologies.
• Dmitry Kuchynski, an Advisory Principal at Cisco Global Security Services and a Customer Solutions Director, is a client value-driven professional in the areas of Information Security and Technology Strategy with more than 5 years of consulting experience and over 15 years of industry-related experience.
• Patrick Thomas, a Cisco Senior Security Consultant, is a recovering software developer turned penetration tester as well as an application security practice lead at Neohapsis, recently acquired by Cisco. He works primarily on offensive and defensive security tools, with an emphasis on web application security, web malware, and social engineering.
• Jake Gillenis a Cisco Champion and 18-year IT veteran. He transitioned to his first info sec-focused role in 2001 and is now a Senior Security Engineer with Proficio, an MSSP and SOC-as-a-Service company. You can follow him on Twitter @jakegillen.

We'll discuss how a global shortage of workforce ready cyber-security professionals is causing more and more organizations to seek answers to very critical questions, in addition to more security talent.

According to Cisco's 2015 Annual Security Report, there is an estimated one million security positions going unfilled. And when current professionals spend more time putting out daily fires, they have even less time to dedicate to strategic measures that can reduce the occurrence of cyber-attacks and other malicious intruders.

Please join our conversation on Tuesday, April 21 from 2 to 3 p.m PST using the hashtag#CiscoChat, and tell us what you think are the key security measures organizations must take in today's complex digital world.