{{Short description|American programmer known as "Big Balls" (born 2005)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = Edward Coristine | image = | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|2005|12}} | other_names = Big Balls | occupation = Programmer | relatives = Valery Martinov (grandfather) | education = {{ubl|Rye Country Day School|Northeastern University}} | employer = {{ubl|Neuralink|Department of Government Efficiency}} | political_party = Republican }} '''Edward''' "'''Big Balls'''" '''Coristine''' (born December 2005) is an American programmer who was appointed to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) during the second presidency of Donald Trump. Coristine is known for his association with Elon Musk and DOGE, his youth and inexperience relative to his responsibilities with DOGE, and his nickname.<ref name="surrogate" /><ref name="auto">{{Cite news |first1=Bill |last1=Hutchinson |first2=Jack |last2=Date |first3=Kelsey |last3=Walsh |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/19-year-former-doge-worker-assaulted-dc-carjacking/story?id=124406722 |title=19-year-old former DOGE worker assaulted in DC carjacking attempt, say police |publisher=ABC News |date=August 6, 2025}}</ref>
== Early life and education == Coristine was born in December 2005.<ref name="Boston Globe DOGE">{{cite news |last1=Spatz |first1=Emily |title=First-year Northeastern student has a role at Musk's DOGE, according to reports |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/02/04/metro/doge-staff-northeastern-coristine/ |newspaper=The Boston Globe |access-date=February 6, 2025 |date=February 4, 2025 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250204205858/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/02/04/metro/doge-staff-northeastern-coristine/ |archive-date=February 4, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Farrar |first1=Molly |title=Harvard senior, Northeastern first-year student reportedly among Musk's DOGE team |url=https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2025/02/04/harvard-senior-northeastern-first-year-student-reportedly-among-musks-doge-team/ |website=Boston.com |date=February 5, 2025 |access-date=February 6, 2025}}</ref> His father is Charles Coristine, the CEO of LesserEvil.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Quiroz-Gutierrez |first=Marco |title=A 19-year-old who was reportedly fired from an internship for leaking internal information to competitors is now a DOGE 'senior advisor' in the State Department |work=Fortune |access-date=June 27, 2025 |date=March 13, 2025 |url=https://fortune.com/2025/03/13/edward-coristine-doge-father-elon-musk-trump/}}</ref> His maternal grandfather, Valery Martynov, was a KGB lieutenant colonel executed in 1987 by the Soviet Union as a double agent. After Martynov's execution, his widow moved with her children—including Coristine's mother Anna—to the United States.<ref name="protege">{{cite news |last1=Sommerlad |first1=Joe |title=Elon Musk's protege 'Big Balls' is grandson of executed KGB agent, report says |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/elon-musk-s-protege-big-balls-is-grandson-of-executed-kgb-agent-report-says-b2703739.html |date=February 24, 2025 |newspaper=The Independent |access-date=March 27, 2025}}</ref>
Coristine graduated from Rye Country Day School in 2024.<ref name="rcds">{{Cite web |first=Jay |last=Sears |url=https://myrye.com/2025/02/rye-country-day-24-grad-part-of-musks-doge-team/|title=Rye Country Day '24 Grad Part of Musk's DOGE Team |website=MyRye.com |date=February 5, 2025}}</ref> He acquired the nickname "Big Balls" during a math class in his junior year of high school<ref name="auto" /><ref name="ballstop">{{Cite web|url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/edward-coristine-big-balls-doge-elon-musk-trump-team.html|title='Big Balls' on Top of the World|last1=Meléndez |first1=Pilar|last2=Bredderman|first2=William|date=February 22, 2025|website=Intelligencer}}</ref><ref name="state">{{cite news |last1=Dodds |first1=Io |title=Elon Musk's teenage high school grad staffer known as 'Big Balls' now State Department adviser: Report |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/elon-musk-doge-edward-coristine-b2695812.html |newspaper=The Independent |date=February 11, 2025 |access-date=February 11, 2025}}</ref> and added it to his LinkedIn profile.<ref name="sexy">{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/story/edward-coristine-tesla-sexy-path-networks-doge/ |title=DOGE Teen Owns 'Tesla.Sexy LLC' and Worked at Startup That Has Hired Convicted Hackers |first=Andy |last=Greenberg |magazine=Wired |date=February 6, 2025}}</ref> He enrolled at Northeastern University in 2024 as a mechanical engineering and physics major.<ref name="rcds" /><ref name="zoe" /> School friends describe him as intelligent and driven, with Elon Musk being his hero.<ref name="zoe">{{cite news |last1=MacDiarmid |first1=Zoe |title=Northeastern student identified as engineer for Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency |url=https://huntnewsnu.com/83444/campus/northeastern-student-identified-as-engineer-for-elon-musks-department-of-government-efficiency/ |date=February 4, 2025 |newspaper=The Huntington News |access-date=February 6, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Liam |last=Archacki |title=This 19-Year-Old Musk Minion Dropped Out of School to Smash the Government |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/ethan-coristine-popcorn-prince-who-followed-elon-musk-to-doge-considers-him-his-idol/ |date=February 5, 2025 |work=The Daily Beast |access-date=February 6, 2025}}</ref> Coristine is a registered Republican.<ref name="Boston Globe DOGE" />
== Career == ===Early career=== A computer programmer and former engineering student,<ref name="auto1">{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/story/edward-coristine-big-balls-assaulted-alleged-carjacking/ |title=Police Report: Edward 'Big Balls' Coristine Assaulted in Alleged Carjacking |first1=Caroline |last1=Haskins |first2=Makena |last2=Kelly |date=August 5, 2025 |magazine=Wired}}</ref><ref name="th250624" /> Coristine has founded a number of startups with companies registered in Connecticut, Delaware, and the United Kingdom. One of the startups offers an artificial intelligence Discord bot for the Russian market.<ref name= "Newsweek Big Balls" >{{cite web |last1=Burman |first1=Theo |title=Who is 'Big Balls'? Teen DOGE Engineer Edward Coristine |url=https://www.newsweek.com/who-big-balls-teen-doge-engineer-edward-coristine-2027698 |website=Newsweek |date=February 7, 2025 |access-date=February 8, 2025}}</ref> Coristine owns a limited liability company named TESLA.SEXY.<ref name="sexy" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Fenster |first1=Jordan Nathaniel |title=Youngest member of Musk's team at DOGE is from New Canaan, media reports say |url=https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/connecticut/article/edward-coristine-doge-elon-musk-new-canaan-20149280.php |newspaper=Stamford Advocate |access-date=February 6, 2025 |date=February 6, 2025}}</ref>
Coristine briefly worked for cybersecurity firm Path Network.<ref name="sexy" /> ''Bloomberg News'' reported that Coristine was fired from his internship at Path Network in 2022 for allegedly leaking internal company information to a competitor. Following his dismissal, a large collection of internal Path documents and conversations was leaked online.<ref name="krebs" /> Coristine wrote that although he had retained access to Path Network's servers, he did not exploit it.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last1=Leopold |first1=Jason |last2=Murphy |first2=Margi |last3=Alexander |first3=Sophie |last4=Bleiberg |first4=Jake |last5=Cormier |first5=Anthony |date=January 7, 2025 |title=Musk's DOGE Teen Was Fired By Cybersecurity Firm for Leaking Company Secrets |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-07/musk-s-doge-teen-was-fired-by-cybersecurity-firm-for-leaking-company-secrets |access-date=January 7, 2025 |work=Bloomberg News}}</ref> Path Network confirmed that Coristine had been fired following a security incident.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fenster |first1=Jordan Nathaniel |last2=Eaton |first2=Joshua |title=New Canaan teen on Musk's DOGE team was fired by cybersecurity firm, report says |url=https://www.ctinsider.com/connecticut/article/elon-musk-doge-ct-edward-coristine-trump-20154340.php |work=CT Insider |access-date=February 9, 2025 |date=February 7, 2025 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250208210704/https://www.ctinsider.com/connecticut/article/elon-musk-doge-ct-edward-coristine-trump-20154340.php |archive-date=February 8, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=de Puy Kamp |first1=Majlie |title=Recording reveals new details on controversial DOGE employee |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/21/politics/doge-musk-edward-coristine-invs/index.html |date=February 22, 2025 |publisher=CNN |access-date=March 27, 2025}}</ref>
Coristine's online content delivery network, DiamondCDN, has reportedly facilitated the work of the cybercriminal group EGodly.<ref>Multiple sources: *{{cite news |last1=Liddell |first1=James |title='Big Balls' gave tech support to criminal group that cyberstalked an FBI agent, report says |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/doge-big-balls-musk-fbi-coristine-b2722062.html |newspaper=The Independent |date=March 26, 2025 |access-date=March 27, 2025}} *{{cite news |last1=Hewson |first1=Georgie |title=DOGE staffer calling himself 'big balls' provided tech support to cybercrime ring, records show |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-27/doge-staff-big-balls-provided-tech-support-to-cybercrime-ring/105101466 |date=March 27, 2025 |publisher=ABC News (Australia) |access-date=March 27, 2025}} *{{cite web |last1=Gault |first1=Matthew |title=Elon Musk's 'Big Balls' Doge Staffer Reportedly Ran Tech Support for a Cybercrime Ring |url=https://gizmodo.com/elon-musks-big-balls-doge-staffer-reportedly-ran-tech-support-for-a-cybercrime-ring-2000580985 |website=Gizmodo |date=March 26, 2025 |access-date=March 27, 2025}} </ref> In 2023, EGodly thanked DiamondCDN, saying, "We extend our gratitude to our valued partners DiamondCDN for generously providing us with their amazing DDoS protection and caching systems, which allow us to securely host and safeguard our website." EGodly has claimed involvement in a number of crimes including email hacking, theft of cryptocurrency, and the harassment of a former FBI agent.<ref>{{cite news |title=Teen member of Musk's Doge staff provided tech support to cybercrime ring, records show |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/26/teen-doge-staff-cybercrime-ring |website=The Guardian |date=March 26, 2025 |access-date=March 27, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Landymore |first1=Frank |title=One of Elon Musk's DOGE Kids Reportedly Helped a Cybercrime Ring |url=https://futurism.com/doge-kid-helped-cybercrime-ring |website=Futurism |date=March 27, 2025 |access-date=March 27, 2025}}</ref>
According to investigative journalist Brian Krebs, Coristine has been active in a group of online communities known as "The Com", a network of Discord and Telegram channels associated with cybercrime activities.<ref name="krebs">{{cite web |last=Krebs |first=Brian |date=February 7, 2025 |title=Teen on Musk's DOGE Team Graduated from 'The Com' |url=https://krebsonsecurity.com/2025/02/teen-on-musks-doge-team-graduated-from-the-com/ |website=KrebsOnSecurity |access-date=February 9, 2025}}</ref>
Coristine worked for a short time at Neuralink, an Elon Musk-run enterprise.<ref name="surrogate" />
===Federal government=== Coristine worked at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after President Donald Trump took office in January 2025.<ref name="surrogate" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine |last=Elliott |first=Vittoria |title=The Young, Inexperienced Engineers Aiding Elon Musk's Government Takeover |url=https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-government-young-engineers/ |access-date=February 3, 2025 |date=February 2, 2025 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> He was among a group of nineteen- to twenty-five-year-olds without prior experience in government who were appointed to DOGE;<ref name= "The Times Baby-Faced" >{{cite web |last1=Ensor |first1=Josie |title=Meet Elon Musk's 'baby-faced assassins' leading Doge takeover |url=https://www.thetimes.com/us/american-politics/article/who-are-doge-elon-musk-baby-faced-assassins-0tj2qq0mv |newspaper=The Times |access-date=February 6, 2025 |date=February 7, 2025}}</ref> Coristine was the youngest member of the group.<ref name="techies">{{cite news |last1=Lubin |first1=Rhian |last2=Marcus |first2=Josh |title=The seven techies barely out of college helping Musk to slash billions from federal government |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/elon-musk-doge-trump-marko-elez-age-b2692402.html |newspaper=The Independent |date=February 5, 2025 |access-date=February 6, 2025}}</ref> He worked within the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and reported directly to Amanda Scales, a former xAI employee appointed as OPM chief of staff. OPM records listed his role as "expert". According to ''Wired'', Coristine sat in on calls using a non-government email address where workers were directed to "go over code they had written and justify their jobs".<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite magazine |last=Kelly |first=Makena |title=Government Tech Workers Forced to Defend Projects to Random Elon Musk Bros |url=https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-government-tech-workers-gsa-tts/ |access-date=February 3, 2025 |date=January 30, 2025 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> On one call with federal Small Business Administration staff, Coristine asserted that DOGE wanted access to human resources, contract, and payment systems at the agency.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Trump takes steps to shutter USAID and gives Musk unprecedented access to federal systems |last=Barrón-López |first=Laura |date=February 3, 2025 |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/trump-takes-steps-to-shutter-usaid-and-gives-musk-unprecedented-access-to-federal-systems |access-date=February 5, 2025 |work=PBS News Hour}}</ref>
Coristine was discussed in a February 2, 2025 ''WIRED'' article entitled "The Young, Inexperienced Engineers Aiding Elon Musk's Government Takeover".<ref name=":0" /> ''Intelligencer'' published a February 2025 article on Coristine entitled " 'Big Balls' on Top of the World".<ref name="ballstop" /> ''Saturday Night Live'' mentioned Coristine in a March 1, 2025 skit.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://myrye.com/2025/03/saturday-night-live-spoofs-rye-country-day-school-24-grad-musk-doge-team-member-coristine/|title=Saturday Night Live Spoofs Rye Country Day School '24 Grad & Musk DOGE Team Member Coristine |website=MyRye.com|date=March 2, 2025}}</ref> A March 26, 2025 ''USA Today'' article reported that Coristine's nickname had become a "pop culture punchline".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/26/doge-staffer-big-balls-edward-coristine/82667607007/|title=Exclusive: DOGE staffer, 'Big Balls', provided tech support to cybercrime ring, records show|first=Raphael|last=Satter|website=USA TODAY|date=March 26, 2025}}</ref> In a spring 2025 interview with Musk and with DOGE employees, Fox News host Jesse Watters asked, "'Who is Big Balls?'" "'I am'", Coristine replied. He added that he was working on rooting out fraud and abuse in regard to government spending.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite news |first=William |last=Vaillancourt |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/big-balls-explains-his-nickname-during-unhinged-doge-roundtable/ |title='Big Balls' Explains His Nickname During Bonkers DOGE Roundtable |date=May 2, 2025 |work=The Daily Beast}}</ref> The interview made Coristine "well known online and among Musk's immense fanbase".<ref name=":4" />
Also in 2025, Coristine served as a senior advisor at the Bureau of Diplomatic Technology of the United States Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In addition, he held positions at the United States Agency for International Development<ref name="surrogate">{{Cite news |last1=Siddiqui |first1=Faiz |last2=Hudson |first2=John |last3=Stanley-Becker |first3=Isaac |date=February 10, 2025 |title=19-year-old Musk surrogate takes on roles at State Department and DHS |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/02/10/musk-doge-state-department-surrogate/ |access-date=February 10, 2025 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref name="state" /> and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.<ref name="Coristine-at-CISA">{{Cite magazine |issn=1059-1028|last=Zetter |first=Kim |title=DOGE Now Has Access to the Top US Cybersecurity Agency |magazine=Wired |access-date=March 25, 2025 |date=February 19, 2025 |url=https://www.wired.com/story/doge-cisa-coristine-cybersecurity/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=DiMolfetta |first1=David |title=DOGE employee Edward Coristine lands at CISA with DHS email |url=https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2025/02/doge-employee-edward-coristine-lands-cisa-dhs-email/403126/ |work=NextGov |date=February 20, 2025 |access-date=March 27, 2025}}</ref> On May 31, 2025, Coristine became a full-time General Services Administration employee at a General Schedule grade of 15 (the top civil service grade in the federal government).<ref name="full-time-employee">{{Cite magazine |last=Kelly |first=Makena |title='Big Balls' Is Officially a Full-Time Government Employee |url=https://www.wired.com/story/big-balls-young-doge-converted-into-full-time-government-employees/ |access-date=June 4, 2025 |date=June 4, 2025 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> In June 2025, Coristine resigned from the General Services Administration.<ref name="th250624">{{Cite news |last=Fields |first=Ashleigh |date=June 24, 2025 |title=DOGE aide known as 'Big Balls' resigns |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5367819-doge-aide-big-balls-resigns/ |access-date=June 25, 2025 |website=The Hill}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Lahut |first1=Jake |last2=Kelly |first2=Makena |last3=Elliott |first3=Vittoria |last4=Schiffer |first4=Zoë |date=June 24, 2025 |title='Big Balls' No Longer Works for the US Government |url=https://www.wired.com/story/big-balls-coristine-doge-resigned-us-government/ |access-date=June 26, 2025 |magazine=Wired |url-access=subscription}}</ref> He was then hired by the Social Security Administration.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Lubin |first=Rhian |date=June 27, 2025 |title='Big Balls' now working at Social Security Administration after leaving DOGE: report |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/big-balls-new-job-social-security-b2777960.html |access-date=June 27, 2025 |newspaper=The Independent |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Cameron |first1=Chris |last2=Nehamas |first2=Nicholas |date=June 25, 2025 |title=Edward Coristine, Key Player on Elon Musk's DOGE Team, Resigns |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/24/us/politics/big-balls-edward-coristine-musk-doge.html |access-date=June 27, 2025 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
In August 2025, ''The Independent'' stated that Coristine's nickname was better known than his actual name.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/doge-big-balls-dc-attack-trump-b2802729.html|title=Trump posts picture showing aftermath of alleged attack on DOGE staffer 'Big Balls'|date=August 6, 2025|website=The Independent}}</ref>
A whistleblower disclosure on August 26, 2025 by Social Security Administration chief data officer Charles Borges alleged that Coristine and others had uploaded the Social Security numbers and other personal information of 300 million Americans to a "vulnerable" cloud server. Borges said this action created a risk of widespread identity theft in the event of a leak or hack and that it "potentially violated multiple federal statutes" regarding the protection of government data.<ref>Multiple sources: *{{cite news |last1=Woodward |first1=Alex |title=Whistleblower claims DOGE compromised Social Security data of hundreds of millions of Americans |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/doge-social-security-whistleblower-b2814600.html |newspaper=The Independent |access-date=September 2, 2025 |date=August 26, 2025}} *{{cite web |last1=Esposito |first1=Laura |title='Big Balls' in Biggest Ever Social Security Leak: Whistleblower |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/doge-goons-dump-millions-of-social-security-numbers-online/ |website=The Daily Beast |access-date=September 2, 2025 |date=August 26, 2025}} *{{cite web |last1=Nehamas |first1=Nicholas |title=DOGE Put Critical Social Security Data at Risk, Whistle-Blower Says |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/us/politics/doge-social-security-data.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=September 15, 2025 |date=August 26, 2025}} </ref>
==Personal life== Coristine was assaulted in an attempted carjacking in Washington, D.C. in the early morning hours of August 3, 2025, an incident which was cited by President Trump in a criticism of crime rates in the city and which he used as a rationale to federalize the city's police force and deploy the National Guard.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lebowitz |first=Megan |last2=Uribe |first2=Raquel Coronell |date=August 11, 2025 |title=Trump to take over D.C. police and deploy the National Guard in effort to fight crime in the nation's capital |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-announce-plans-address-crime-washington-surging-federal-law-enfo-rcna224232 |access-date=August 12, 2025 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Trump |first=Donald J. |title=Restoring Law and Order in the District of Columbia |website=WhiteHouse.gov |access-date=August 19, 2025 |date=August 11, 2025 |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/08/restoring-law-and-order-in-the-district-of-columbia/|quote=The local government of the District of Columbia has lost control of public order and safety in the city, as evidenced by the two embassy staffers who were murdered in May, the Congressional intern who was fatally shot a short distance from the White House in June, and the Administration staffer who was mercilessly beaten by a violent mob days ago.}}</ref> Two teenage suspects were arrested following the attack, while police indicated that "multiple suspects remain outstanding".<ref name="auto" /><ref name="auto1" /> Coristine suffered a broken nose and a concussion in the attack; he was later interviewed about it by Jesse Watters of Fox News.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/edward-big-balls-coristine-carjacking-national-guard-b2836498.html |title=Edward 'Big Balls' Coristine reveals more details about infamous DC carjacking in Fox News interview |date=September 30, 2025 |work=The Independent |last=Cockburn |first=Harry}}</ref> The male suspect pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and assault in connection with the attack on Coristine, and the female suspect pleaded guilty to assault. Both defendants were sentenced to probation.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/2-teens-sentenced-probation-assault-doge-worker-dc/story?id=126533887 |title=2 teens sentenced to probation in assault of DOGE worker during DC carjacking attempt: Source |publisher=ABC News |last=Peterson |first=Beatrice |date=October 14, 2025}}</ref>
==See also== * Department of Government Efficiency * Elon Musk * Marko Elez * Luke Farritor
== References == {{reflist}}
{{United States Department of Government Efficiency|state=expanded}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coristine, Edward}} Category:2005 births Category:Living people Category:American people of Russian descent Category:21st-century American engineers Category:American software engineers Category:Rye Country Day School alumni Category:Neuralink people