Susan Headley (born 1959), also known asSusy Thunder orSusan Thunder, is an American formerphreaker and earlycomputer hacker who was active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Headley specialized in a type of hacking that usespretexting and misrepresentation of oneself in contact with targeted organizations to get information vital to hacking those organizations.[1] She called this "psychological subversion"; it is also calledsocial engineering.[2]
As a young person, she developed interest and expertise intelephone networks and circumventing systems.[5] According toThe Hacker's Handbook (1990), she hacked the United States phone system as a 17-year-old in 1977 and was "one of the earliest of the present generation of hackers".[6] For a while in the late 1970s and early 1980s, she collaborated with computer hackerKevin Mitnick (also known as Condor) and phone phreaker Lewis de Payne (also known as Roscoe) on hacking intoPacific Bell systems and other systems, although there were conflicts between the group members.[7][8] In 1981–1982, she testified against Mitnick and de Payne in a theft case related to Pacific Bell, and provided evidence against de Payne in a case related to hacking U.S Leasing, in exchange forimmunity.[4][7][9]
In 1982, Headley gave an interview on the television show20/20 about circumventing security systems, including the technique of "garbology":dumpster diving to find systemdocumentation and other useful information thrown away by telephone company staff.[10][11] On October 25, 1983, Headley testified in front of theU.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs about the technical capabilities and motivations of hackers and phone phreaks.[12][13][14] On20/20 and in her Senate testimony, she explained that motivations for the hackers she knew included curiosity, challenge, and intense competition with each other, rather than profit.[15][16] In the 1980s, she worked as a security consultant and a professional poker player.[17][5][8] In 1995, Headley presented a talk atDEF CON about "Social Engineering and Psychological Subversion of Trusted Systems", including about usingseduction as part of strategies for social engineering.[18][8]
In 1991, journalistsKatie Hafner andJohn Markoff published a book,Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier, about Headley, Mitnick, de Payne, and other hackers.[19] Later, she was noted as one of only a few women among early phone phreaks and one of the earliest known female hackers.[1][20] WriterClaire L. Evans, who profiled Headley inThe Verge in 2022,[2] described her as "a mythological figure in hacking history".[21] As of 2024, a film based on the profile was in development.[22][23]
