Which component is essential in ensuring data security in cloud computing?

Access control measures and encryption are fundamental in ensuring data security in cloud computing. Access control measures ensure that only authorized individuals can access sensitive data, thereby protecting it from unauthorized access and potential breaches. These measures can include user authentication, role-based access control, and policies defining who can access what data.

Encryption plays a critical role by transforming data into a format that cannot be easily understood by unauthorized users. When data is encrypted, even if it is intercepted, it remains unintelligible without the appropriate decryption keys. This secure method of encoding data helps protect it during transmission and while stored in the cloud.

While data redundancy, data compression, and server location might contribute to overall system performance, availability, and operational efficiency, they do not specifically address the security of the data itself. Redundancy focuses on data availability and disaster recovery, compression is aimed at optimizing storage and bandwidth, and server location may be relevant to compliance and latency considerations but does not inherently secure data. Therefore, the combination of access control measures and encryption is crucial for ensuring data security in a cloud environment.