Definition
Secure behavior management (SBM)
Secure behavior management (SBM) is the practice of changing how people act on security, measured by what they actually do rather than the training they finish. It aims AI-personalized interventions at the people whose behavior creates the most risk, automates the program, and measures whether risk went down. Gartner uses the term for the move away from traditional security awareness.
What an SBM program needs
Five things,and how Living Security delivers each.
On Living Security, secure behavior management is part of human risk management. Each need maps to something the platform does today.
-
01
Behavior measured from real signals
What people do in email, identity, endpoint and web tools, rather than course completions.
On Living Security
The Human Risk Index scores every person from hundreds of signals in the tools you already run.
The platform -
02
Interventions personalized with AI
The right action for each person, at the moment it matters.
On Living Security
Livvy explains each person’s risk and recommends the action. Content Studio makes the module in minutes, on brand.
Meet Livvy -
03
Practice on the channels attackers use
Email, voice, text and the team response, rather than one email test a quarter.
On Living Security
Living Security Phishing, voice phishing (vishing), SMS phishing, CyberEscape Online and VTX.
Phishing simulation -
04
Automation, with a person in charge
A program that runs every week without a spreadsheet.
On Living Security
Playbooks run the right product for each person, and a person approves anything that matters.
See playbooks -
05
Outcomes leadership trusts
Proof that risk went down, rather than proof that people clicked “complete”.
On Living Security
The share of risky users and time in a risky state, month by month, in a report for the board.
The 2026 Human Risk Report
Measure · Human Risk Index
Start from what people actually do.
Secure behavior management starts with measurement. The Human Risk Index finds the few people, and AI agents, behind most of the risky behavior, and groups them into cohorts you can act on.
Personalize · Livvy
AI picks the intervention. A person approves it.
Livvy explains why a person’s risk is rising and recommends the action that fits: a simulation on the channel attackers use, a short module, a team experience or an access change.
SBM vs security awareness training
From completionsto changed behavior.
| Security Awareness Training | Secure behavior management |
|---|---|
| Measures course completions and quiz scores | Measures behavior from real signals in your security tools |
| The same content for everyone, on a calendar | The right action for each person, when their risk changes |
| Email phishing tests once a quarter | Email, voice, SMS and team exercises, aimed by risk |
| Run by hand, campaign by campaign | Run by playbooks, with a person approving what matters |
| Reports activity: sent, opened, completed | Reports outcomes: fewer risky users, less time in a risky state |
The outcome
Aim at the few, and risk goes down.
68%
Less time in a risky state after targeted action.2026 Human Risk Report with the Cyentia Institute
25–30%
Drop in the share of risky users in the first six months.2026 Human Risk Report with the Cyentia Institute
74.8%
of risky behavior comes from 10% of the workforce.2026 Human Risk Report with the Cyentia Institute
Leader
Named Leader in the Forrester Wave™: Human Risk Management Solutions, Q3 2024.
Questions buyers ask
Secure behavior management, answered.
What is secure behavior management (SBM)?
Secure behavior management (SBM) is the practice of changing how people act on security, measured by what they actually do rather than the training they finish. It aims AI-personalized interventions at the people whose behavior creates the most risk, automates the program, and measures whether risk went down. Gartner uses the term for the move away from traditional security awareness.
Where does the term secure behavior management come from?
Secure behavior management is the term Gartner uses for moving from security awareness to AI-powered behavior change. Gartner’s September 2026 research note on it is titled "Ditch Security Awareness and Adopt AI-Powered Secure Behavior Management".
How is SBM different from security awareness training?
Security awareness training sends everyone the same content and counts completions. Secure behavior management measures what people actually do, aims personalized interventions at the people whose behavior creates the most risk, and judges success by whether risky behavior went down.
What does a secure behavior management program need?
Five things: behavior measured from real signals, interventions personalized with AI, practice on the channels attackers use, automation with a person in charge, and outcome measures leadership trusts.
Is SBM the same as human risk management?
They overlap. Human risk management covers what secure behavior management calls for and adds identity, access and threat context, AI agents in the same risk model, an accountable owner for each risk, and an open framework. On Living Security, SBM is part of human risk management.
Gartner is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally.
Change the behavior.Prove the risk went down.
See secure behavior management run inside the Living Security human risk management platform, on your own signals.