Which type of malware blocks access to systems and demands payment to restore access?

• A. Ransomware
• B. Privacy
• C. Recovery (Cold Site)
• D. Quality of Service (QOS)

Answer: (A)

Ransomware is a type of malware that blocks access to systems or data, typically by encrypting files or locking the screen, and then demands payment to restore access or decrypt the data. This immediate goal of denying user access and monetizing that denial is what makes it the best fit for the description. The other terms describe different concepts: privacy refers to protecting data confidentiality, a cold site is a disaster recovery option for resuming operations after an outage, and QoS deals with prioritizing network traffic. None of those involve malware that locks systems for ransom. In real incidents, it often spreads via phishing or exploiting vulnerabilities, and the recommended response is to isolate affected systems and restore from clean backups rather than paying the ransom.