Today’s episode is a special one. I’m joined by Desmond Lamptey, a Software Engineering Manager at a large financial organization.

I first came across Desmond during his talk on API Security at APIDays Paris—and honestly, it was one of the best talks I’ve seen. Not only because of the insights, but also the dad jokes.

That talk made me curious: What drives a seasoned engineer like Desmond to speak about security with such passion?

And more importantly, what does he think security teams get wrong when it comes to their collaboration with teams like his?

With over a decade of technical experience and a Certified Ethical Hacker certification under his belt, Desmond regularly shares his knowledge through public speaking and brings a unique developer’s perspective to security.

In this episode, we dive into his path to becoming a security champion, the challenges of engaging developers in security conversations, why he’d change the way security teams label vulnerabilities for developers, and how gamifying security education can help close the gap between devs and security teams.

Dive right in!