DONs are my bread and butter lately (6-max though, not 10-max which I don't care for), and in this spot with this stack I tend to tighten way up and play only premium hands, unless I have a very good read on the blinds and short stacks that leads me to believe I can steal with impunity. It's not at all uncommon to see QQ or KK folded on the bubble (especially OOP) when they know they've got a lock. Some would even say fold AA and coast in, although I've never been quite that nitty. In many ways it's the same bubble strategy that satellite specialists often use.
OTOH when I'm short of a safe stack, I'm very aggressive, pushing wide and often to maximize fold equity and move myself well into the safe zone. Then I tighten up unless/until I have a huge stack that can afford to bully people around, or I have reads that everyone else behind me are nits that have already shut down.
Remember that in a 1500 starting stack DON (whether 6-max or 10-max), 3000 chips is a guaranteed win. You cannot lose if you maintain 3000 chips. Sure you can win with much less depending on how the rest of the chips are dispersed, but 3000 is an absolute lock. So I base a lot of decisions around how close my stack is to 3000 chips. But you also have to adjust for super stacks like in this case -- player 8 has more than double that, which means at this point in time the next 4 stacks only need to average ~2250 between them to be guaranteed a win. Obviously this requires regular adjustment as chip dispersal changes, but it's crucial to always be aware of how far into the safe zone your stack is.
It's very easy in DONs to go from a safe 1st or 2nd stack to bubble stack if you're not very careful about the risks you take. Unlike in a regular SNG or MTT, there's no need to beat everyone else at the table to secure the biggest payout -- you only have to outlast half the field. This demands a different perspective on risk:reward decisions.
Now obviously it's all situational in poker, and if you have a savvy player at the table who recognizes that you've nitted way up and are in coast mode, then expect to be exploited to some degree. Especially if they're on a short stack, because they know that FE against you is huge, and they also have to make some moves to get themselves into that safe zone. This is where your experience and reads will really guide you on how to defend yourself against these players.