Chat logs reveal DOGE member Edward Coristine's ties to cybercrime community The Com, and a Telegram handle linked to him sought a DDoS-for-hire service in 2022

Wired reported this week that a 19-year-old working for Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) …

Krebs on Security 2025-02-08 Brian Krebs

Context & Ripple Effects

The report adds cybercrime-community allegations to scrutiny already surrounding Coristine's DOGE role. Related coverage says he was dismissed from a cybersecurity internship after alleged information leaks in 2022, making the new chat-log reporting material to questions about technical vetting.

The issue gained more institutional weight when later reporting placed Coristine among DOGE engineers on staff at CISA. It also lands as DOGE's loosely coordinated operating model was being examined in earlier coverage.

First-order effects

Coristine and DOGE face more immediate scrutiny over vetting, access, and whether the reported Telegram activity and The Com associations were assessed before sensitive technical assignments.
The report increases the reputational and governance burden on agencies or teams that grant Coristine access, particularly given the related reporting that he later joined CISA staff.

Second-order effects

Security leaders overseeing DOGE-linked personnel may face pressure to document background checks, access scopes, and monitoring controls rather than rely on informal staffing arrangements.
The allegations sharpen concerns about insider-risk management wherever DOGE personnel handle government systems or data; those concerns are amplified by later reporting of plans for a centralized database of residents' personal information.

Third-order effects

If repeated personnel controversies accompany broad technical access, government modernization efforts may shift toward more formal identity, clearance, and least-privilege controls—even for politically sponsored, fast-moving teams.
The broader test is whether rapid recruitment and centralized data initiatives can coexist with auditable cyber-risk governance; continued incidents would make that tradeoff harder to avoid.

The trend: This is one data point in the collision between fast, informal government-tech deployment and the stricter personnel and access controls required for high-consequence public systems.

Discussion

@cwarzel Charlie Warzel on bluesky
glad that the 19 year old who might have access to some of the government's most sensitive data has a past of leaking documents to competitors, doing cybercrimes, and sucking at doing those crimes. good stuff. [embedded post]
@jasonaw Jason Wilson on bluesky
Come for the news that “bigballs” hung out in cybercrime discords, stay for his old friends dumping on his coding abilities krebsonsecurity.com/2025/02/ teen...
@fbajak Frank Bajak on bluesky
Solid reporting by @briankrebs.bsky.social expanding on @wired.com work that links one of the Musk DOGE protégés rifling through federal networks to a cybercrime social network known as The Com, whose members engage in nastiness including DDoS attacks and swatting. Krebs himself…
@esqueer.net Alejandra Caraballo on bluesky
Absolute must read. Edward Corristine was deeply involved witg a cyber criminal community called the Com. Members have been known to engage in the sexual extortion of children. — krebsonsecurity.com/2025/02/ teen...
@karaswisher Kara Swisher on bluesky
Only the finest hires krebsonsecurity.com/2025/02/ teen...
@jsweetli Jacqueline Sweet on bluesky
Vance will say it was some youthful international cybercrime ring indiscretion by tomorrow 11 am [embedded post]
@pfish.zone @pfish.zone on bluesky
Oh word? Elon's teen appears to be a straight-up criminal?
@malwaretech.com Marcus Hutchins on bluesky
Brian Krebs confirmed what I suspected. Like most people who worked for Path Network, Edward Coristine came from the cybercrime community, and was active as recently as May 2024 — krebsonsecurity.com/2025/02/ teen... [embedded post]
@lizthegrey.com Liz Fong-Jones on bluesky
Addendum: Brian Krebs reports that Edward Coristine was in fact the owner of DiamondCDN/Packetware. This all-but-confirms my theory that Edward “Big Balls” Coristine had joined Kiwi Farms's Telegram in an attempt to gain (or extort) Joshua Moon's business. krebsonsecurity.com/20…
@morecoffeeplz Gabriel Bernadett-Shapiro on bluesky
The Com is a group of criminals, responsible for serious and disturbing online attacks. The fact that one of their former members has access to sensitive information should be of immediate concern. — krebsonsecurity.com/2025/02/ teen...
@timmarchman Tim Marchman on bluesky
If you know what this headline means you'll get why I'm about to vomit
@kimzetter Kim Zetter on x
Fantastic new details from @briankrebs about DOGE worker Edward Coristine and his past connections with the cybercrime group The Com. He also expands on what happened after Coristine got fired from Path Networks in 2022 for allegedly leaking company docs. https://krebsonsecurity.…
@awinston Ali Winston on x
Elon is employing Com members. Com/764 is a tier one domestic terrorism threat https://krebsonsecurity.com/ ...
r/cybersecurity r on reddit
Teen on Musk's DOGE Team Graduated from ‘The Com’
r/conservativeterrorism r on reddit
Elon is employing Com members. Com/764 is a tier one domestic terrorism threat
r/AnythingGoesNews r on reddit
Teen on Musk's DOGE Team Graduated from ‘The Com’ - A Transnational Mass Child Abuse/Gore/Sextortion Network Linked To Kidnappings And Murders.
r/Intelligence r on reddit
Edward Coristine, one of Elon's DOGE employees, has been linked to the “COM” discord/telegram cybercrime network, where he advertised his hacking services.
r/EnoughMuskSpam r on reddit
Elon is hiring members of The Com, a far-right terrorist network tied to the Order of Order of Nine Angles
Vox Abdallah Fayyad on x
The real lesson of the DOGE racist tweets scandal
@normative Julian Sanchez on bluesky
Musk has sicced his followers on the WSJ writer who reported on a DOGE staffer's racist online, history demanding her firing. This is a tactic Silicon Valley's neoreactionaries have been advocating for years: Pick a reporter, dox and harrass, make an example of them, make everyo…
@trenchdiggr @trenchdiggr on bluesky
This is a transparent attempt to normalize racism. We cannot let that happen.
@jj-bristol @jj-bristol on bluesky
That kid's frontal lobe isn't even fully developed. But his boss clearly supports those ideas.
@oxcub311 Dave on bluesky
Say it with me. They are racist and they support racism.
@stephenblackmoore.com Stephen Blackmoore on bluesky
That took longer than I thought it would. [embedded post]
@refocused-24 @refocused-24 on bluesky
Figured that improved his stature within this administration and their base.
@glynmoody Glyn Moody on bluesky
but of course, rules don't apply to him and his gang... [embedded post]
@yair-rosenberg Yair Rosenberg on bluesky
I've written for years that we should be more forgiving of old social media posts. Otherwise, we freeze people in the worst versions of themselves. But when the ugly posts are from the last *half-year*, that's obviously not old news: that's evidence of a person who needs to cha…
@pkwsj Paul Kiernan on bluesky
Among the statements last year by ex-DOGE staffer Marko Elez: — “Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool.” — “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity.” — “Normalize Indian hate.” — www.wsj.com/tech/doge-st... [embedded post]
@rmac Ryan Mac on bluesky
kinda funny to think that the racist DOGE guy ended his own career because he just straight up tweeted “yea i'm racist”
@philinvestigates.com Phil Williams on bluesky
Sources tell WIRED that the ability of DOGE's Marko Elez to alter code controlling trillions in federal spending was rescinded days after US Treasury and White House officials said it didn't exist. www.wired.com/story/treasu...
@rimaanabtawi Rima I Anabtawi on bluesky
“Representatives from Elon Musk's U.S. DOGE Service have fed sensitive data fr across the Education Department into artificial intelligence software to probe the agency's programs & spending, according to two people with knowledge of the DOGE team's actions.” — www.washingtonpo…
@dell Dell Cameron on bluesky
DOGE operative Marko Elez got the ability to alter US Treasury payment system code on Feb 1, WIRED's sources say. — For days, Trump officials fed members of Congress and the press a different story. — Elez is out now for posts reading “I was racist before it was cool” and “no…
@evacide @evacide on bluesky
Now that's some effective journalism. More of this please. [embedded post]
@emptywheel @emptywheel on bluesky
I feel like every story describing the new ways DOGE [sic] is using AI should start by saying, “this is the same AI that the DOGE [sic] boys used to claim that USAID spend $60M on condoms in Gaza.” — www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/ ...
@mmasnick Mike Masnick on bluesky
So the inexperienced Musk lackey who briefly had read-write access to the nation's payment system... also turns out to be a racist shitbag? Why... how... unsurprising. [embedded post]
@michaelianblack Michael Ian Black on bluesky
Slow down, you're saying the guy who sieg heiled at the inauguration and then campaigned for the German far-right AfD hired a racist who advocates for eugenics? That doesn't sound right. www.wsj.com/tech/doge-st...
@alexeheath.com Alex Heath on bluesky
NEW: The head of the White House tech task force that has been renamed to DOGE just told colleagues in an internal memo that he is resigning instead of “taking the fork” deferred resignation offer for federal employees. — The deadline to accept the offer is today. — www.theve…
@chrislhayes Chris Hayes on threads
The user appeared to have a special dislike for Indian software engineers. “99% of Indian H1Bs will be replaced by slightly smarter LLMs, they're going back don't worry guys,” the user posted in December. “Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool,” nullllptr posted…
@jdvance JD Vance on x
Here's my view: I obviously disagree with some of Elez's posts, but I don't think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid's life. We shouldn't reward journalists who try to destroy people. Ever. So I say bring him back. If he's a bad dude or a terrible member of
@balajis Balaji on x
If possible, Marko Elez (@marko_elez) should be reinstated at DOGE. If that is not possible, we should fund him to do his own startup. Let me explain my logic. 1) First, there can be no negotiation with terrorists — or journalists. Giving a single inch to a journo on anything
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
🫡 He will be brought back. To err is human, to forgive divine.
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
Bring back @DOGE staffer who made inappropriate statements via a now deleted pseudonym?
@serobinsonjr S.E. Robinson, Jr on x
@elonmusk @DOGE Big Balls deserves a 2nd chance... Seriously though, have a talk to about the racist stuff. Not cool.
@devahaz Deva Hazarika on x
I'm strongly opposed to trying to cancel people for stupid shit they posted online years ago as teens etc. But this is a 25yo adult posting stuff a few months ago. Don't make silly excuses for it, just say you don't believe views like this should be disqualifying for the role.
@nkulw Noah Kulwin on x
Not great that the ascendant right-wing idea of the moment is “being openly racist is fine and should not get you in trouble”
@congressmanraja Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi on x
Advocating for the return of a racist DOGE staffer who has called for, among other things, wanting to “normalize Indian hate” is offensive and irresponsible. Hate should have no home at DOGE or anywhere else for that matter.
@jdvance JD Vance on x
For the sake of both of our kids? Grow up. Racist trolls on the internet, while offensive, don't threaten my kids. You know what does? A culture that denies grace to people who make mistakes. A culture that encourages congressmen to act like whiny children.
@repyvetteclarke @repyvetteclarke on x
What kind of man stands with a bigot who said “Normalize Indian Hate” when his own wife is an Indian woman? Is scoring points with these creeps so important to the @VP he'll disgrace his own family? And just for the record - if you're a proud racist, you're a bad dude. Period.
@benjysarlin Benjy Sarlin on x
Political quantum mechanics posits that a 25 year old is both a delicate child who must be protected from their own views and also an important adult who needs to manage the most powerful nation's critical payment system
@nic__carter Nic Golden Age Carter on x
All I'm saying is if the left can get terrorists and murderers like Susan Rosenberg, Bill Ayers, Angela Davis, Bernadine Dohrn, and Kathy Boudin cushy university jobs, maybe the DOGE guy who made bad tweets can have his job back
@mattyglesias Matthew Yglesias on x
I favor forgiving people past transgressions but did the Racist DOGE actually repent anything? The tweets in question aren't particularly old.
@mattyglesias Matthew Yglesias on x
This is so brain-dead. Elez did a bunch of racist posts. Trump and DOGE and the right writ large need to decide for themselves, like adults, whether or not they think that's okay. What their enemies say or do is totally irrelevant. [image]
@repraskin Rep. Jamie Raskin on x
Which posts do you “disagree” with — “Normalize Indian hate,” “I was racist before it was cool,” “I would not mind at all if Gaza and Israel were both wiped off the face of the Earth,” or “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity”?
@briantylercohen Brian Tyler Cohen on x
The husband of an Indian-American wife and the father of 3 Indian-American kids wants to bring back the staffer who posted “normalize Indian hate.”
@mikeisaac Rat King on x
ringing endorsement [image]
@armanddoma Armand Domalewski on x
how did we swing from “random normal people should have their lives ruined forever because they tweeted something dumb ten years ago” to “guy who explicitly demonstrated a Nazi worldview a few months ago deserves to be one of the most powerful people on the planet”
@jebus @jebus on x
Free big balls Smack talking Indians is an American tradition that originates long before the founding
@mikebenzcyber Mike Benz on x
@elonmusk @DOGE 2 Balls, 2 Chances
@endwokeness @endwokeness on x
@elonmusk @DOGE Yes. We cannot allow the era of cancel culture to return.
@realchrisrufo Christopher F. Rufo on x
@elonmusk @DOGE Yes, have him apologize to the team (not to the public or the media) and welcome him back.
@stillgray Ian Miles Cheong on x
@elonmusk @DOGE I don't agree with his views or whatever but he has the right to have them and he isn't hurting anyone with them. It also says nothing about his job performance. Bring him back.
@ike_saul Isaac Saul on x
Balaji, this is embarrassing dude. They didn't “dig up” some old posts. The posts were from as recently as December. And they weren't subtle. “Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool.” — July “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity... Normalize
@shashj Shashank Joshi on x
“A kid”. The DOGE staffer in question 25 years old & the racist posts date from the ancient past of <checks notes> July & September. “Normalise Indian hate.” This is the vice-president normalising explicit, open, unabashed racism. [image]
@teroterotero Tero Kuittinen on x
Here is another high profile social media personality who believes it's acceptable to give high level positions to people who believe Israel should be wiped off the Earth. I just never expected this to happen in America. Disorienting.
@jason @jason on x
50%+ of young kids say something stupid online in their youth today This is down from 100% of boys in schoolyards in the 1980s — when we didn't actually have a permanent record (even though they told us Tele did!) Write an apology, say what you learned since then and get back
@mikeisaac Rat King on x
Valley defenders of DOGE employees spent all last week criticizing people who said they were too young to be in government, and are now defending this guy by saying he's just a kid — don't get to have it both ways Also interesting Trump is nowhere near this discussion
@samstein Sam Stein on x
i'm having trouble following this. if they all want the guy who made racists tweets to have remained on staff then who decided to let him go in the first place? no one forced them to fire the guy
@aidnmclaughlin Aidan McLaughlin on x
JD Vance wants to hire a guy who said this in June: “I would not mind at all if Gaza and Israel were both wiped off the face of the Earth.”
@davidgross_man David Grossman on x
A) Not obvious, actually B) He's 25. Not a kid X) Advocating for someone who is racist against YOUR WIFE is a new level of cucked previously unknown to scientists
@robbysoave Robby Soave on x
I really, really do not like when people lose their jobs because of idiotic things they tweeted. If Elez Marko had said these things when he was like, 16, I'd be all for ignoring it—I'd even join the mob forming against the WSJ reporter who uncovered it. But he said that stuff a
@moorehn Heidi N. Moore on x
Extremely surprising that one of Elon's flunkies would resign over racism. Isn't that what his whole operation is centered on? https://www.wsj.com/... [image]
@iwillleavenow @iwillleavenow on x
I would say “killer vetting process there,” but tbh I thought being a piece of shit was kind of a prerequisite to DOGE employment. https://www.wsj.com/...
@byklong Katherine Long on x
I linked DOGE staffer Marko Elez to a deleted X account that advocated repealing the Civil Rights Act, backed a “eugenic immigration policy,” and wrote, “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity. He just resigned. https://www.wsj.com/...
@rachelvand Rachel Van Dongen on x
The deleted profile associated with Elez, who was embedded in the Treasury Department to carry out efficiency measures, advocated repealing the Civil Rights Act and backed a “eugenic immigration policy” in the weeks before President Trump was inaugurated. https://www.wsj.com/...
@pitdesi Sheel Mohnot on x
@DOGE fwiw I think it's great that Doge exists and that we have young people working there. This guy should have been filtered out given that he wants a eugenics based immigration policy. https://www.wsj.com/...
@billkristol Bill Kristol on x
Racism and eugenics in DOGE world? Color me shocked. https://www.wsj.com/...
@pitdesi Sheel Mohnot on x
Some tweets from one of the 25-year old guys working on @DOGE “Normalize Indian hate” “I would not mind at all if Gaza and Israel were both wiped off the face of the Earth” “99% of Indian H1Bs will be replaced by slightly smarter LLMs, they're going back don't worry guys” [image]
@riegerreport JM Rieger on x
A staffer for Elon Musk's DOGE resigned on Thursday after The Wall Street Journal asked about the staffer's connection to a social-media account that advocated for racism and eugenics. The staffer had access to the Treasury Department's payment systems. https://www.wsj.com/... [i…
r/AkronOH r on reddit
Embarrassment to Ohio, JD Vance, told Musk to rehire Treasury DOGE staffer behind racist posts. Trump endorses the idea. My friends, we have a Nazi problem.
r/inthenews r on reddit
Musk to rehire Treasury DOGE staffer behind racist posts after Trump endorses idea
r/TheSecondTerm r on reddit
Musk to rehire Treasury DOGE staffer behind racist posts after Trump endorses idea
r/Destiny r on reddit
Vance tells Musk that DOGE staffer who resigned after posting racist tweets should be rehired
r/RepublicanValues r on reddit
Vance tells Musk that DOGE staffer who resigned after posting racist tweets should be rehired
r/nottheonion r on reddit
Vance tells Musk that DOGE staffer who resigned after posting racist tweets should be rehired
r/Fuckthealtright r on reddit
DOGE chief Elon Musk polls X users if staffer who quit over racist tweets should be rehired
r/politics r on reddit
DOGE chief Musk asks X users if staffer who quit over racist tweets should be rehired
@malwarejake Jake Williams on bluesky
Before someone says “but that could have been missed on a background check” let me stop you right there. When it's a background check for the federal government and you lie on the form, that's a federal crime. Either dufus discloses it or he's in line for a felony conviction. …
@carlquintanilla Carl Quintanilla on bluesky
Another five-byline siren: 🚨 — (Bloomberg) - Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old member of Elon Musk's squad that's criss-crossing US government agencies, was fired from an internship after he was accused of sharing information with a competitor. — www.bloomberg.com/news/article.…
@rakeshsfnyc Rakesh Agrawal on x
Steve Jobs was 21 when he started Apple. Bill Gates was 20 when he co-founded Microsoft. Paul Allen was 22 when he co-founded Microsoft. In Farhi's world, I was 19 when I launched one of the first online newspapers. Remember gopher and lynx?
@farhip Paul Farhi on x
Musk's commando staff includes guys who are 21, 23, 24 and 25. One is *19* years old. His job title is “Expert.” When you were 19, what were you an expert at?
@clarajeffery Clara Jeffery on x
1/ So @jasonleopold just posted a big story about one of Elon Musk's DOGE goons, the 19-yo Edward Coristine, who was fired from a data-security firm internship for...sharing company secrets. (gift link) https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@seancasten Sean Casten on x
There is absolutely no way that the Trump WH is doing necessary security vetting of these people. The entire operation is a national security liability. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@juliadavisnews Julia Davis on x
Coristine regularly posted on both Discord and Telegram in 2021 and 2022. His posts are a mix of discussions about Path Network, coder-talk and lewd insults. On Telegram, he used language that suggested he was seeking a tool used in hacking. https://x.com/...
@aghamilton29 @aghamilton29 on x
Yikes. I'm sympathetic to the idea of not letting the press control who gets hired, but it's increasingly clear that some of the DOGE hires were not properly vetted and should not have access to restricted government information. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@hshaban Hamza Shaban on x
Coristine and other colleagues have discussed how they can use government datasets to potentially replace government employees with artificial intelligence and train chatbots to do the work, Bloomberg reports. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@merylkornfield Meryl Kornfield on x
There seems to be some confusion on here about the Musk staffers. Big Balls isn't the one who posted about hating Indians and wanting to wipe Israel and Gaza “off the face of the Earth.” Big Balls is the one who was fired from a cybersecurity firm for leaking data.
@repswalwell Rep. Eric Swalwell on x
Your data has been breached. Donald Trump gave unvetted teenagers access to your most private information. We are fighting now in the courts. And, shortly, Democrats will use our votes — in government funding bill — to stop this madness and secure your data.
@mattyglesias Matthew Yglesias on x
Doesn't seem like an ideal situation. I'm sure all these guys are smart, but Musk clearly has a lot of personal solicitude for the government of China and who knows about his sidekicks.
@mikedrucker Mike Drucker on x
but i was told they only hire based on merit. i was born very recently and cannot believe this news.
@jzbleiberg Jake Bleiberg on x
A 19-year-old on Elon Musk's DOGE squad was fired from a cybersecurity firm after he was accused of leaking company secrets. He's now on one of the most high-profile teams in the Trump admin. W/@JasonLeopold, @MargiMurphy, @sooo__phie and @a_cormier_ https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@sooo__phie Sophie Alexander on x
NEW: Elon Musk's DOGE teenager Edward Coristine was fired from a cybersecurity firm after being accused of leaking internal info to a competitor. More nuggets on the young man with access to troves of govt data here: 🎁 https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@danielsgoldman Daniel Goldman on x
This is why vetting and security clearances matter. This guy stole company secrets for a competitor and now he has access to potentially classified information. Our competitors are China and Iran, not small tech companies. Will Congressional R's protect our national secrets?
@repdonbeyer Rep. Don Beyer on x
Just incredible incompetence - again - from Elon Musk, who staffed his team with leakers and racists and gave them access to sensitive government data and every American's personal information. Painfully obvious they did zero vetting on these people. https://www.bloomberg.com/...…
@mikeisaac Rat King on x
the problem with putting very young adults in high profile positions is that they grew up in an era of posting millennials should thank god every day that their AIM away messages are lost to the sands of time
@jasonleopold Jason Leopold on x
🚨🚨BIG SCOOP: Musk's DOGE Teen Was Fired By Cybersecurity Firm for Leaking Company Secrets Edward Coristine posted online that he had retained access to the firm's servers. Now he has access to sensitive government information. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
r/politics r on reddit
Musk's DOGE Teen Was Fired By Cybersecurity Firm for Leaking Company Secrets
r/Defeat_Project_2025 r on reddit
Musk's DOGE Teen Was Fired By Cybersecurity Firm for Leaking Company Secrets
r/Law_and_Politics r on reddit
Musk's DOGE Teen Was Fired By Cybersecurity Firm for Leaking Company Secrets
r/lostgeneration r on reddit
Musk's DOGE Teen Was Fired By Cybersecurity Firm for Leaking Company Secrets
r/Qult_Headquarters r on reddit
Musk's DOGE Teen Was Fired By Cybersecurity Firm for Leaking Company Secrets
r/centrist r on reddit
Musk's DOGE Teen Was Fired By Cybersecurity Firm for Leaking Company Secrets
r/Destiny r on reddit
Musk's DOGE Teen Was Fired By Cybersecurity Firm for Leaking Company Secrets
r/DailyTechNewsShow r on reddit
Bloomberg - Musk's DOGE Teen Was Fired By Cybersecurity Firm for Leaking Company Secrets
r/feddiscussion r on reddit
Musk's DOGE Teen Was Fired By Cybersecurity Firm for Leaking Company Secrets
r/inthenews r on reddit
Musk's DOGE Teen Was Fired By Cybersecurity Firm for Leaking Company Secrets

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