IT Services Leader Empowers Developers with Gamified Threat Modeling
Software Development
Mid-size
A German IT and software services company with a reputation for innovation and reliability set out to evolve its application security program beyond traditional security gates. To do this, it prioritized threat modeling and automation to reduce risk without slowing down development teams.
Overcoming Security Bottlenecks to Empower Developers
The primary obstacle for the organization was removing friction that slowed development. Manual security tasks and late-stage vulnerability discovery were inefficient, costly, and often a source of frustration for developers who would rather focus on development work and feature enhancements. Furthermore, developers found the process of triaging security findings to be tedious. The raw data from vulnerability databases often lacked the necessary context, forcing engineers to spend valuable time determining if a finding was truly exploitable
The organization needed to instill a security-first mindset without creating process bottlenecks. The challenge was not just to find vulnerabilities, but to make the remediation process efficient, clear, and even engaging.
THE PROBLEM:
Repetitive, Manual Tasks Dragging on Productivity
Security Happening Late in Development
Security Incidents Required Costly Rework
Creating a Culture of Security Through Leadership and Gamification
The transformation was driven by a multi-faceted strategy that combined strategic leadership, cultural initiatives, and deep integration of the Sonatype platform.
A key initiative was its Security Champion program, which embedded security advocates directly within development teams. This accelerated the identification and mitigation of vulnerabilities and bridged the gap between security and engineering to create a culture of shared responsibility. To make security more approachable, the team introduced gamified threat modeling exercises like “OWASP Cornucopia” and “Elevation of Privilege,” turning typically rigorous tasks into a collaborative and educational experience.
Empowering Developers with Embedded Security and Intelligent Automation
Sonatype was central to the technological shift. Sonatype Lifecycle was integrated directly into GitLab, enriching every merge request with vulnerability and policy information. This provided developers with immediate, actionable feedback within their existing workflows, enabling them to address issues early. Sonatype Repository Firewall was deployed to proactively block risky and non-compliant open source components from entering the development environment, preventing vulnerabilities from taking root. Sonatype IQ Server’s research-backed vulnerability descriptions, combined with Sonatype Lifecycle’s precise component intelligence, provided developers with the context they needed to triage findings quickly and accurately, significantly reducing manual investigation time.
To ensure enterprise-wide visibility, the team leveraged Sonatype's APIs to build a custom executive dashboard and export findings into its Application Security Posture Management (ASPM) platform, creating a unified view of risk. The strategic integration and the focus on developer empowerment delivered significant returns on investment across the organization.
“By strategically deploying Sonatype, we’ve streamlined security, empowering developers to deliver faster, safer innovation while maintaining compliance and quality through proactive risk blocking and real-time governance.”
Application Security Engineer
Leading IT Services Enterprise
Reduced Costs and Increased Efficiency
By shifting security left with Threat Modeling and automated SCA, the organization minimized costly rework and reduced security incidents. The automation of vulnerability detection and remediation streamlined workflows, freeing up developer time and optimizing operational costs.
Improved Developer Productivity and Morale
Developers now spend less time on manual security tasks and more time on innovation. Integration into GitLab pipelines provides frictionless feedback, while the enriched vulnerability data from IQ Server accelerates the triage process. Gamified security practices have made security more engaging, boosting morale and participation.
Strengthened Security Posture and Culture
The Security Champion program and clear policies have successfully embedded security awareness across development teams. The combination of blocking threats and providing continuous governance has greatly simplified compliance and created a proactive, security-minded culture.
This transformation shifted security left, reduced manual effort and remediation costs, and enhanced developer productivity and morale by making security an engaging and automated part of the development process.
This customer’s journey demonstrates the profound impact of combining visionary leadership with the right technology. By focusing on the developer experience and automating software supply chain security, the company has successfully built a culture where security and innovation are not competing priorities but mutually reinforcing goals. This developer-centric approach has allowed the team to accelerate development, reduce risk, and build more secure, high-quality software faster.
Products Used
