A threat in terms of cybersecurity is something or someone that intends to cause harm to another person or system. Furthermore, we can look at a threat as something that has the potential to cause malicious damage to a system, network, or person.

Whether you're on the offensive or defensive side in cybersecurity, you must always be able to identify threats. However, while we need to be aware of threats, we also need to know what has to be protected against threats. We call the entity in need of safeguarding an asset. Let's look at what constitutes an asset.