Russians face suspicion in Silicon Valley after hacking scandals
Allegations of hacking and influence campaigns during the US election are affecting the Russian immigrant community in Silicon Valley. Start-ups are reportedly more cautious about accepting funding from such sources, while Russian-born engineers are claiming that they are being treated differently in both social and work situations. Lawyers have also argued that some tech companies are restricting foreign-born coders' access to data. Conversely, some companies have shown an increased interest in hiring Russian tech workers as the country’s reputation for hacking has grown.

SAN FRANCISCO — Pavel Cherkashin, a Russian investor based in this city, thought he had the perfect name for a Catholic church that he is spending $11.5 million converting into a tech palace. It would be called Hack Temple.

But that was before the nearly daily deluge of news about Russian efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election by hacking computers and using Facebook and Twitter to spread inflammatory messages and sow division.

“We had so many concerns from our investors saying this would be inappropriate and we should change it,” said Mr. Cherkashin, 44, who planned to officially open Hack Temple this fall. “A bunch of Russian guys opening a hacker temple in the middle of San Francisco at a time when Russian hackers are considered the most evil in the world. They say you can’t.”

With news of the hacking and influence campaigns escalating all year, the Russian immigrant community of Silicon Valley, which numbers in the tens of thousands, is in a strange new position. Some Russian venture capitalists said start-ups were more wary about taking their funding, while several Russian-born engineers said they were being treated differently socially and in their companies. Lawyers also said some tech firms were installing tighter security measures restricting what data foreign-born coders can see.