ITPEC FE Subject A April 2026 Question 31

Malware that blocks access to the computer and demands money to unblock it — ransomware holds the victim's system or data hostage.

Ransomware encrypts the victim's files or locks the screen, then displays a demand for payment, often in cryptocurrency, in exchange for the decryption key. The best defence is an offline backup, so the data can be restored without paying.

Answer (b)

Why not others:

• •(a) — lists adware, spyware and freeware together; freeware is simply software distributed at no charge, and none of these extorts payment
• •(c) — assigning random MAC addresses is a privacy feature of modern operating systems, not an attack
• •(d) — a random number generator is a normal building block of cryptographic software

Key rule: Ransomware is defined by the ransom demand: adware shows advertisements, spyware collects information secretly, and ransomware makes the victim pay to get the system or data back.

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