Meet Edward “Big Balls” Coristine: The 19-Year-Old DOGE Staffer with a Cybercrime Connection

The online persona known as “Big Balls,” real name Edward Coristine, is making headlines not only for his youth but also for his surprising background. At just 19 years old, Coristine has ties to a cybercrime ring and is the grandson of a KGB spy, raising eyebrows about his role in the tech landscape.

The Origin of Big Balls: A High School Hacker

Before joining the ranks of DOGE in Washington, Edward Coristine was deeply involved in the digital underworld. He reportedly operated a tech support company named DiamondCDN while still in high school in 2022. The platform, now defunct, aimed to shield clients from Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, boasting what it claimed was a “near-instant reaction” to such threats.

Linking DiamondCDN and Cybercrime: The EGodly Connection

Notably, one of DiamondCDN’s clients was a notorious cybercrime organization called EGodly. Sources like Reuters detail how EGodly made headlines for its criminal activities, including cryptocurrency theft and doxxing an FBI agent. The group even shared audio recordings of prank calls to this agent on Telegram, showcasing their boldness.

Gratitude from Criminal Organizations: EGodly’s Acknowledgment

In a post on Telegram, EGodly publicly expressed its gratitude to Coristine’s DiamondCDN for its support, stating: “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.”

Association with The Com: The Digital Youth Criminal Network

Krebs on Security has previously linked Coristine to “The Com,” a decentralized movement of digital youth criminals operating primarily on Discord and Telegram. This informal cultural group is not a single entity but rather a collaboration of various collectives engaging in cybercrime. Though Reuters did not directly connect EGodly to The Com, the modus operandi of these groups shows significant overlap.

Escalating Activities and Real-World Violence

Reports indicate that The Com’s activities go beyond online harassment. Members have been known to film themselves attacking the homes of rivals, illustrating a troubling trend of escalating violence associated with their digital exploits. While Edward Coristine hasn’t been implicated in such acts, his associations raise questions about the influence of this culture on his professional endeavors.

Support from Elon Musk: A Polarizing Figure

In light of these revelations, Elon Musk offered his support for Coristine, stating, “Big Balls is awesome ” in a post on X last month. This endorsement adds another layer of complexity to Coristine’s growing notoriety.