Milhoun coined the term cypherpunk and was a founding member of the cypherpunks. She began programming in 1967, writing software for the Horn and Hardart company. She was a member of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, and the author of several books, including The Cypherpunk Handbook (1995) and How to Mutate and Take Over the World (1996) ISBN 0345392167. She was a senior editor at the magazine Mondo 2000. She often wrote under the pseudonym St. Jude.