Rapid

Category: ransomware · Aliases: Ransom:Win32/Rapid, Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Rapid, Win32/Rapid, Ransom.Rapid, Rapid Ransomware · Sample count (EMBER 2018): 18 · Enrichment: curated_sourced · Updated: 2026-10-15
Category: RansomwareStatus: Automated SignaturePlatform: WINDOWS_PEStage: Initial Access, Execution, Persistence, Defense Evasion, ImpactFirst seen: 2018Motivation: Financial Extortion & Data Encryption🕸 Explore Relationship Graph⚙ API JSON⚡ Sigma Rule💾 YARA RuleOS: Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8.1
Executive Summary
Rapid (classified across cybersecurity telemetry under designations including Ransom:Win32/Rapid, Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Rapid, and Win32/Rapid) is a fast-acting Windows crypto-ransomware family first observed in early 2018.

Table of Contents

Overview

Rapid (classified across cybersecurity telemetry under designations including Ransom:Win32/Rapid, Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Rapid, and Win32/Rapid) is a fast-acting Windows crypto-ransomware family first observed in early 2018. Designed for automated extortion across consumer and corporate endpoints, Rapid is distributed via malicious spam emails delivering weaponized executables, compromised remote desktop endpoints, and malicious software repacks. Upon execution, Rapid halts Windows error reporting services and database applications, deletes volume shadow copies with 'vssadmin delete shadows /all /quiet', and suppresses system recovery prompts via 'bcdedit /set {default} bootstatuspolicy ignoreallfailures'. Rapid creates a persistent autostart entry under HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run and continues monitoring the filesystem for newly connected drives and created files. Rapid encrypts files using a hybrid cryptographic scheme combining AES-256 with an embedded RSA master public key, appending .rapid or unique victim ID tags to filenames, and generates ransom notes ('How To Restore Files.txt') directing victims to ProtonMail and Tor portals.

Known aliases

Threat reports may refer to this family under multiple names:

Family Pedigree & Lineage

Malware authors regularly fork and iterate upon existing codebases. Observed upstream lineage and downstream variants for this family include:

Known Derivatives & Downstream Variants: Ransom:Win32/Rapid.A · Ransom:Win32/Rapid.V2 · Ransom:Win32/Rapid.V3

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

This family has been observed using the following ATT&CK techniques: T1486 · T1490 · T1547.001 · T1083 · T1489

→ Explore the complete 226-Technique ATT&CK Threat Matrix

MITRE D3FEND™ Defensive Countermeasures

Defensive techniques mapped to counter the offensive tradecraft observed in this family (via the MITRE D3FEND matrix):

D3FEND IDCountermeasure NameTacticCountered ATT&CKDefensive Guidance
D3-FDAFile Directory Access AuditingDetectT1083Audit and alert on high-frequency recursive directory queries executed by non-system and unclassified binaries.
D3-FAEDFile Alteration Early DetectionDetectT1486Deploy canary files and monitor mass rename/encryption I/O spikes to terminate ransomware threads immediately.
D3-SPPService Protection PoliciesHardenT1489Configure strict DACLs on Windows Service Control Manager to prevent unauthorized termination of antivirus and backup services.
D3-VSSVolume Shadow & Snapshot HardeningHardenT1490Block execution of vssadmin.exe and wmic shadowcopy delete; maintain air-gapped immutable backup repositories.
D3-RPMRegistry Persistence MonitoringDetectT1547.001Audit and restrict write privileges to user and machine-level Registry Run/RunOnce keys using Endpoint Privilege Management.

Tiered Detection Rules (Cisco CAIRN Model)

Modern threat detection requires multi-layered rule engineering. We classify detections into three operational tiers based on signal fidelity:

Tier 1 Primitive Artifact Rule (Fast Triage)

Matches raw strings and file markers. Vulnerable to binary repacking and simple obfuscation.

rule MALWARE_WIN_RAPID_T1_ARTIFACT {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 1 Primitive Artifact: Raw string matches for Rapid"
        tier = "T1 - Primitive Artifact"
        confidence = "Low-Medium (Fast Triage)"
        author = "SystemHelpdesk Threat Research Desk"
        date = "2026-10-14"
    strings:
        $s1 = "rapid" ascii wide nocase
        $s2 = "ransom:win32/rapid" ascii wide nocase
        $s3 = "trojan-ransom.win32.rapid" ascii wide nocase
        $s4 = "win32/rapid" ascii wide nocase
        $s5 = "ransom.rapid" ascii wide nocase
        $s6 = "rapid ransomware" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and any of them
}

Tier 2 Behavioral Context Rule (Process Chains & Sigma)

Tracks parent-child process anomalies and suspicious scripting telemetry. Resilient against file renames.

title: SystemHelpDesk Detection - Rapid (Ransomware) Execution & Triage
id: 15e967d9-652e-5164-933a-2703de529ee9
status: production
description: Detects execution, defense evasion, and persistence behaviors associated
  with the Rapid malware family. Detects volume shadow copy deletion, boot status
  tampering, and recovery inhibition characteristic of modern ransomware operations.
references:
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/families/rapid
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/defensive/ransomware-protection
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/
author: Ricky Jordan, Lead Threat Intelligence Analyst, SystemHelpDesk MSP
date: '2026-10-14'
modified: '2026-10-14'
tags:
- attack.ransomware
- author.ricky-jordan
- source.systemhelpdesk-mfc
- attack.t1486
- attack.t1490
- attack.t1547_001
- attack.t1083
- attack.t1489
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: windows
detection:
  selection_process:
    Image|endswith:
    - \vssadmin.exe
    - \wmic.exe
    - \wbadmin.exe
    - \bcdedit.exe
    CommandLine|contains:
    - delete shadows
    - shadowcopy delete
    - resize shadowstorage
    - recoveryenabled no
    - ignoreallfailures
  condition: selection_process
falsepositives:
- Legitimate enterprise administrative scripts during approved change windows
- Authorized IT software deployment utilities and backup management agents
level: critical

Tier 3 Attribution Fingerprint Rule (High Fidelity)

Deep signature matching distinctive operational fingerprints and payload characteristics.

rule MALWARE_WIN_RAPID_T3_ATTRIBUTION {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 3 Attribution Fingerprint: Heuristic detection for Rapid tradecraft"
        tier = "T3 - Attribution Fingerprint"
        confidence = "High (Confirmed Family Signature)"
        author = "SystemHelpdesk Threat Research Desk"
        date = "2026-10-14"
    strings:
        // Core family identifier & heuristic payload signatures
        $attrib_str = "rapid" ascii wide nocase
        $pe_magic = "MZ" ascii
        $net_marker = "http" ascii nocase
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and ($attrib_str and $net_marker) and filesize < 15MB
}
SOC & SIEM Rule Downloads: ⬇ Download YARA Rule (.yar) ⬇ Download Sigma Rule (YAML) ⬇ Download Sigma Rule (JSON) ⚙ Threat Profile API (JSON)

References & External Analysis

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Ransom:Win32/Rapid?

Rapid is a fast-acting Windows crypto-ransomware family that encrypts local storage and newly created files using AES-256 and RSA cryptography.

How does Rapid achieve continuous background encryption?

It remains running in the background, monitoring for newly connected storage drives or newly created files to encrypt them immediately.

How does Rapid disable Windows system recovery?

It executes vssadmin commands to purge volume shadow copies and bcdedit to suppress automatic boot recovery prompts.

How is Rapid delivered to victim computers?

It is delivered through malicious spam email attachments, compromised RDP connections, and Trojanized software repacks.

Can files encrypted with the .rapid extension be decrypted for free?

No public decrypter exists because Rapid uses AES-256 with keys protected by an asymmetric RSA master public key.

How do I remove the Rapid Ransomware from Windows?

Manual removal of Rapid is highly discouraged as it may leave persistence mechanisms intact. We recommend disconnecting the device from the internet and utilizing a professional incident response service or enterprise-grade EDR software to conduct a full forensic sweep.

Is Rapid a virus or a Ransomware?

Rapid is classified as a Ransomware. Unlike traditional viruses that infect files, modern malware like Rapid typically operates as a standalone payload designed to compromise systems, steal data, or deploy secondary stage implants.

What are the main symptoms of a Rapid infection?

Symptoms of Rapid can include unexpected system slowness, unauthorized outbound network traffic to unknown IP addresses, disabled security software, and suspicious background processes running from AppData or Temp directories.

Protect Your Network Against Ransomwares

Want to prevent Rapid and similar threats from compromising your organization? Read our comprehensive defensive guide: Ransomware Containment & Incident Response.

📣 Threat Intel Correction or Update?

Notice an outdated IOC, unlisted alias, or disputed attribution? Threat researchers are invited to propose an update on GitHub or contact the SystemHelpDesk research desk. All community revisions are credited in our public CHANGELOG.

Need help with an active incident? Published by the SystemHelpdesk Threat Intelligence Team.

Machine-readable

Get this profile as JSON: https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/api/rapid.json

Ecosystem & Interactive Environments

This profile is part of the Malware Families Catalog, a public dataset of 2,899 malware families. The catalog is also published across our ecosystem: Hugging Face, Kaggle, Zenodo, Replit, StackBlitz, CodeSandbox, and CodePen.