The United States imposed sanctions on 12 members of the Kaspersky Lab leadership team on June 21, a day after announcing plans to bar sales of antivirus software made by the Russian firm, citing cybersecurity risks. The U.S. Treasury targeted the company’s chief operating officer, Andrei Tikhonov, although the chief executive and the company itself weren’t directly sanctioned. The action "underscores our commitment to ensure the integrity of our cyber domain and to protect our citizens against malicious cyber threats," the Treasury said. A State Department statement said the company is “subject to jurisdiction, control, or direction of the Russian government, which could exploit the privileged access to obtain sensitive data." Kaspersky denied it is a threat to U.S. security.
