Building a Security Champions Program: Embedding Security in Development Teams

Introduction

As organizations adopt DevOps practices and increase their development velocity, traditional security approaches often struggle to keep pace. Security Champions programs offer a solution by embedding security-minded individuals within development teams. This article explores how to establish an effective Security Champions program that bridges the gap between security and development.

What is a Security Champion?

A Security Champion is a member of a development team who:

• Has a special interest in security
• Receives additional security training
• Acts as a liaison between development and security teams
• Promotes security best practices within their team
• Helps identify and address security issues early in the development lifecycle

Importantly, Security Champions are not full-time security professionals but developers who take on additional security responsibilities.

Benefits of a Security Champions Program

Implementing a Security Champions program offers numerous benefits:

• Scale security expertise: Extends the reach of the security team
• Shift security left: Identifies security issues earlier in development
• Improve collaboration: Bridges the cultural gap between security and development
• Increase security awareness: Raises the security IQ of the entire development organization
• Accelerate secure development: Reduces security bottlenecks in the development process

Building Your Security Champions Program

1. Secure Executive Support

Before launching a Security Champions program:

• Develop a clear business case highlighting ROI and risk reduction
• Secure support from both security and development leadership
• Establish clear goals and success metrics
• Ensure adequate resources for training and tools

2. Define the Security Champion Role

Clearly define expectations for Security Champions:

• Time commitment (typically 10-20% of their time)
• Specific responsibilities and deliverables
• Reporting structure and communication channels
• Recognition and incentives

3. Recruit the Right Champions

Identify candidates who:

• Volunteer for the role (forced participation rarely works)
• Have interest in security and willingness to learn
• Possess good communication and influencing skills
• Are respected by their peers
• Have support from their direct managers

4. Develop a Training Curriculum

Create a comprehensive training program that includes:

• Fundamental security concepts
• Secure coding practices
• Common vulnerability types
• Security testing tools and techniques
• Threat modeling
• Security requirements and compliance

5. Establish Communication Channels

Facilitate regular communication through:

• Monthly Security Champions meetings
• Dedicated Slack/Teams channel
• Knowledge sharing platform
• Regular office hours with the security team
• Quarterly reviews with security leadership

6. Provide Tools and Resources

Equip Champions with the necessary tools:

• Security testing tools integrated into the development pipeline
• Vulnerability management platform
• Threat modeling templates
• Security requirements checklists
• Documentation and reference materials

7. Create Engagement Activities

Keep Champions engaged through:

• Capture-the-flag (CTF) competitions
• Bug bounty programs
• Security hackathons
• Recognition and rewards for security contributions
• Opportunities to present at security conferences

Measuring Program Success

Track the effectiveness of your Security Champions program using metrics such as:

• Reduction in security vulnerabilities found in production
• Increase in vulnerabilities found during development
• Decrease in mean time to remediate security issues
• Improved security posture scores
• Positive feedback from development teams
• Security Champions retention rate

Case Study: Financial Services Implementation

A financial services organization implemented a Security Champions program across 30 development teams. Key outcomes included:

• 45% reduction in security vulnerabilities reaching production
• 60% decrease in security review bottlenecks
• 3x increase in developer participation in security activities
• Significant improvement in regulatory compliance posture

Common Challenges and Solutions

Challenge: Time Constraints

Solution: Ensure managers formally allocate time for Security Champion activities and recognize these contributions in performance reviews.

Challenge: Knowledge Gaps

Solution: Create a tiered training program that starts with basics and progressively covers more advanced topics.

Challenge: Maintaining Engagement

Solution: Implement recognition programs, provide conference opportunities, and create a clear career development path.

Challenge: Measuring Impact

Solution: Establish baseline metrics before program implementation and track improvements over time.

Conclusion

A well-designed Security Champions program can transform how organizations approach security in software development. By embedding security expertise within development teams, organizations can build more secure applications without sacrificing development velocity. The key to success lies in executive support, clear role definition, proper training, and ongoing engagement activities.

Remember that building an effective Security Champions program is a journey, not a destination. Continuously evaluate and refine your program based on feedback and changing security requirements to ensure long-term success.