Edward "Big Balls" Coristine (born December 2005) is an American programmer tied to Elon Musk and to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Raised in Connecticut, son of a CEO and grandson of a Soviet-era intelligence figure, he graduated high school in 2024 and enrolled at Northeastern. He founded multiple startups and domain-management companies - including TESLA.SEXY - and ran services that hosted image content and an AI Discord bot for Russian users. Reports link some of his infrastructure to abusive or illegal-content domains, to a leaked trove of documents after his 2022 dismissal from a cybersecurity internship, and to DiamondCDN, which a cybercriminal group publicly thanked for hosting and DDoS protection. He has been active in online communities associated with cybercrime and briefly worked at Neuralink.
Appointed as one of a group of very young, nontraditional technocrats at DOGE after Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration, he held roles across OPM, State, DHS, FEMA, USAID and CISA, reached a GSA GS‑15 position, then resigned and moved to the Social Security Administration. Reported behavior included using non-government email on calls, seeking access to HR and payment systems, and media-visible self-promotion; a SSA whistleblower later alleged he uploaded Social Security numbers and other personal data for 300 million Americans to a vulnerable cloud server, raising legal and security concerns. He was also the victim of an August 2025 attempted carjacking that drew national attention.
Summary generated by AI from the linked article. hn.today is not affiliated with Hacker News or Y Combinator.
An open-source project has developed a 100% Rust-based clean-room clone of seven Adobe applications. Network security restrictions currently prevent access to related content. (reddit.com)
ProPublica investigation reveals that private schools can be easily founded with minimal requirements, such as filling out a form and paying a fee, without background checks or proof of education. The ease of establishing microschools raises concerns about oversight and accountability in private education. (propublica.org)
Donald Trump asked Grok how Venezuelans would react if the U.S. captured Maduro. The conversation highlights Trump's interest in Venezuela's political situation and potential responses to such actions. (time.com)
STS-51-F was a 1985 NASA space mission aboard the Challenger spacecraft, focused on astronomical observations with the Spacelab 2 payload. The crew was divided into two shifts, and emergency spacewalk equipment was onboard, but the mission was ultimately an abort-to-orbit event. (en.wikipedia.org)
Magic Switch is a free, open-source macOS app that allows users to share an Apple Magic Keyboard, Trackpad, or Mouse between two Macs without needing to re-pair devices or use an Apple ID. It simplifies switching peripherals, enhancing productivity and convenience for Mac users. (joshua.hu)
Power approval processes are delaying Oracle's plans to build an AI datacenter in Wisconsin. The project has faced regulatory hurdles that impact its timeline. (theregister.com)
Today's best Hacker News stories, summarized and screenshotted, one email a day.