Final answer:
The correct answer is C) back-up and contingency planning, which is a critical component of general controls for ensuring recovery and protection of information in unforeseen events.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks which of the following is a component of general controls. The correct answer is C) back-up and contingency planning. General controls are policies and procedures that apply to many or all applications of an enterprise's information system. They are designed to ensure the proper operation and security of the underlying infrastructure of the information system, which supports business applications. These include controls over data center operations, system software acquisition and maintenance, access security, and application system development and maintenance. Back-up and contingency planning is a critical component of general controls as it ensures that an entity can recover and protect business-related information in the case of unforeseen events leading to data loss or system downtime. This is in contrast to application controls, which are concerned with the transactions and data pertaining to each computer-based application system, and include processing controls, output controls, and input controls.