Long before the internet existed, hackers explored a different kind of network, the global phone system. These early explorers, known as phreakers, learned how to manipulate routing signals, trick operators, and access restricted circuits. Hidden within this world was a small group of women whose mastery of social engineering and technical curiosity laid the groundwork for the hacker culture that followed.
Hidden contributors of the phreaking world
The phreaking scene of the 1970s and early 1980s was a mixture of curiosity, rebellion, and improvisation. It attracted people who wanted to understand large technical systems and test their boundaries. Most stories about this period centre on men like John Draper or the early figures later swept up into the emerging computer underground. Yet women were present, and several were influential.
Their contributions ranged from social engineering to operator system knowledge to community building. They had the same curiosity and willingness to push limits that defined the era, though they rarely received credit.
Susan Headley and the beginning of social engineering
Susan Headley, often known as Susan Thunder, was one of the most skilled social engineers of the phreaking era. She mastered the art of persuasion, using voice, tone, and confidence to access systems that others approached with tones and homemade devices.
Her methods illustrated an important principle that still shapes cybersecurity today. The human element is often the most vulnerable part of a system. She demonstrated that a convincing voice could be more powerful than any blue box.
Headley worked with several well known phreakers and hackers, yet her name became a footnote while others built public reputations. Her story shows how gender shaped recognition within communities that valued technical challenge but often resisted acknowledging women who excelled.
Jude Milhon and the underground cypherpunk movements
Jude Milhon, known as St. Jude, entered the phreaking and hacker scenes as a programmer, writer, and activist. She was part of the Homebrew Computer Club and early hacker groups, contributing both technically and culturally.
Milhon later became significant in the privacy and crypto activist movement. She helped coin the term cypherpunk and advocated for digital rights when the internet was still in its infancy. Her work built a philosophical link between underground hacking culture and the political importance of privacy and encryption.
She pushed for women to have a place in these groups, challenging the stereotype that technical rebellion belonged only to men.
Hidden women in operator networks
One overlooked fact about the phreaking era is that telephone companies were staffed heavily by women. Operators, customer service staff, and some manual technicians were women who knew the system better than many phreakers.
A small number of these women became informal intermediaries. They shared insider knowledge, experimented with routing quirks, and sometimes assisted phreakers who approached them with skill and charm. Their names were rarely recorded, yet their influence shaped the way early hackers understood the phone network.
The familiarity that operators had with signalling paths and trunk behaviours often exceeded the technical understanding of the enthusiast communities trying to break into them.
Why do they matter?
The phreaking era shaped many concepts that still appear in modern cybersecurity. Social engineering, system exploration, privilege escalation, and infrastructure mapping all emerged in this period. Women who engaged in these activities helped build the methods, insights, and cultural norms that modern hackers use.
Their stories show that hacking was never a male domain. It was a space shaped by anyone curious enough to push beyond what the system allowed.
As hacking shifted from phone systems to early computers and networked environments, new opportunities and new barriers appeared. Women stepped into roles as programmers, hardware tinkerers, and system explorers, though they continued to encounter resistance within emerging online communities.