Akira G1024
Also known as GOLD SAHARA, PUNK SPIDER, Howling Scorpius.
Akira is a ransomware variant and ransomware deployment entity active since at least March 2023. Akira uses compromised credentials to access single-factor external access mechanisms such as VPNs for initial access, then various publicly-available tools and techniques for lateral movement. Akira operations are associated with "double extortion" ransomware activity, where data is exfiltrated from victim environments prior to encryption, with threats to publish files if a ransom is not paid. Technical analysis of Akira ransomware indicates variants capable of targeting Windows or VMWare ESXi hypervisors and multiple overlaps with Conti ransomware.
Methodology
Relevance is a match on your industry sector and technology stack against the MITRE ATT&CK v19.1 group graph (174 groups, 821 software families, 56 campaigns). It is computed deterministically from that data, with no language model in the request path. It is a relevance match, not threat-intelligence probability data: it tells you which documented actors and techniques are worth emulating for an org like yours, not a forecast that any specific group will act.
TurboPentest can autonomously exercise 2 of 17 of this actor's documented techniques today (12%). 5 are out of scope for automated testing (social engineering, denial of service, physical).
+9 coming soonmore unlock with our internal pentesting agent, currently in private beta.
These counts are computed from the vendored MITRE ATT&CK graph and the published coverage map, and are reproducible from source.
In-scope techniques to emphasize
Known software
Mimikatz, PsExec, LaZagne, AdFind, Rclone, Akira, Megazord, Akira _v2.
Emulate Akira. Audit-Ready pentest, $99.
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Launch this pentestFrequently asked questions
Who is Akira (G1024)?
Akira is a ransomware variant and ransomware deployment entity active since at least March 2023. Akira uses compromised credentials to access single-factor external access mechanisms such as VPNs for initial access, then various publicly-available tools and techniques for lateral movement. Akira operations are associated with "double extortion" ransomware activity, where data is exfiltrated from victim environments prior to encryption, with threats to publish files if a ransom is not paid. Technical analysis of Akira ransomware indicates variants capable of targeting Windows or VMWare ESXi hypervisors and multiple overlaps with Conti ransomware.
Can TurboPentest test for Akira?
TurboPentest can autonomously exercise 2 of 17 of this actor's documented techniques today. 9 more need internal or assumed-breach access (the Adversarial-Depth tier), and the rest are out of scope for automated testing.
What does it cost to emulate Akira?
An Audit-Ready pentest starts at $99 per target. If it surfaces zero actionable findings, your next pentest is free.
Reviewed by
Michel Chamberland, Founder & CEO of IntegSec. CISSP, OSCP, OSCE, with 20+ years in offensive security, alumni of IBM X-Force Red and Trustwave SpiderLabs.
Last reviewed July 30, 2026.