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Cybersecurity and continuity

You have an IT team and antivirus, yet the business still stopped. Here is why

"We have IT people and antivirus, so we are protected." Every year this belief costs companies days of downtime and millions. We break down why IT protection and business continuity are different things, and what an owner should do now.

Updated: June 28, 2026 · Author: Evgeny Telenkov · ≈ 7 min read

The problem grows faster than it seems

The number of cyberattacks on Russian business has nearly doubled over the past year — tens of thousands of incidents in the first months of the year alone. Every sector is hit: logistics, manufacturing, retail, IT. Most owners read about it in the news and assume it will not touch them. Yet the vast majority of modern attacks aim not to steal a couple of files but to fully halt a company's IT infrastructure.

Why "we have an IT guy" is a trap

IT and security specialists solve technical tasks: they update software, manage antivirus, restore files and servers. This is necessary work — but it answers "how to fix the system", not "what happens to the company's money while the system is down".

The question "what happens to incoming revenue if everything stops tomorrow morning" is asked by no one in most companies. Yet it is the direct responsibility of the owner and the CEO, not of tech support.

Cash flow is under attack, not servers

Picture an ordinary morning when staff cannot open a single file. A customer calls — the manager cannot find their order. The accountant cannot issue an invoice because the accounting system is unavailable. A courier set off, but the route vanished with the database. Each of these is not an "IT problem" — it is direct revenue loss, contract penalties and reputational damage.

Real resilience does not start with antivirus. It starts with understanding: which process stops first, what it costs in money, and whether the team has a plan for the first two hours after a failure.

What an owner should do: four steps

This does not require a big budget — it requires a different view of risk.

  • Calculate the cost of a downtime day. Specifically: revenue not earned, payroll, contract penalties. Once there is a number, decisions are made differently.
  • Find risk concentration points. One server, one supplier, one sales channel, one key employee — where "everything rests on one", it breaks first.
  • Build a continuity plan (BCP). Not a thick policy but short step-by-step instructions per scenario: who does what, in what time, how to replace the missing link.
  • Train the team and test the plan in drills. Simulate a server failure or an office lockout. Only a live exercise shows what really works and what stays on paper. And review the plan — the business changes, and so do the risks.

Prevention costs several times less than recovery after a hit. The same tasks can be solved in advance — understand vulnerabilities, build resilience and train the team to act in a crisis.

FAQ

If we have a good IT team, why deal with continuity separately?

The IT team restores technology and data. Business continuity ensures the company keeps selling, meeting obligations and receiving money while recovery is under way. These are different tasks and different areas of responsibility.

Where to start if there is no budget for a big project?

With three things: calculate the cost of a downtime day for a key process, list the risk concentration points and draft a short first-hours action plan. This can be done in-house or in a single consultation.

How quickly can we see how vulnerable we are?

Take the free resilience assessment — 13 questions show your readiness level, the main risks and first steps.

Where to start with business continuity

Thirteen questions and five minutes show your readiness level. From there, two paths: learn to do it in the programme, or build the system with us.

Evgeny Telenkov
Evgeny Telenkov
Director, business continuity practice · PhD in Economics · Academic Director & Chief Examiner
Risk Manager of the Year in Russia 2020 (RusRisk). Built business continuity from scratch at Nornickel, more than 20 plans; led risk functions at Beeline, Rosneft and EY. Chief risk officer of a 20 billion dollar petrochemical megaproject. Deputy chair of Rosstandart technical committee 010 "Risk management", co-author of six national standards. Author of the ERGP and SAFE programmes.