ikeGPS: Advancing Cloud- Native Malware Protection for Geospatial Data in Critical Infrastructure Sectors

ikeGPS provides data solutions that help electric utilities, communications providers, and engineering partners design, build, and inspect overhead infrastructure. With two decades of expertise, ikeGPS is the standard for eight of the ten largest investor - owned electric utilities in North America and five of the ten largest communications companies in the United States. Headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, its solutions support pole inspections, data collection, and pole loading analysis to enable reliable, safe overhead asset management.

Customer Overview

Over the past year, ikeGPS has expanded their operations to support their growing customer bases. This evolution has introduced growing volumes of geospatial and operational data to manage in Amazon S3. As the complexity of managing their multi-account and multi-region environment  has grown, the company has increasingly needed a scalable, automated, and compliant malware protection solution. ikeGPS selected Cloud Storage Security (CSS) as a strategic partner to support their storage-layer security as their business grows and continues their modernization initiative. The company has sought to centralize their antivirus management and, ensure security operations scaled alongside their business growth, all while remaining compliant with security standards.

Scaling Challenges in a Growing Cloud Environment

ikeGPS is a global provider of geospatial data collection and analysis solutions, serving electric utilities, telecommunications providers, and engineering service providers. Access to robust geospatial data enables organizations in these sectors to effectively plan and maintain infrastructure while complying with regulatory standards.

In 2024, cyberattacks against US utilities surged by more than 70 percent¹. Telecommunications, meanwhile, remains one of the most targeted industries worldwide, ranking repeatedly among the top five sectors for cyberattacks². As threat evolve and risk escalates for these critical industries, proactively scanning geospatial data — including sensitive infrastructure coordinates and operational details — is essential to reduce regulatory, operational, and reputational risk.

As ikeGPS’s cloud footprint expanded, key challenges emerged:

• Siloed malware scanning across AWS accounts and regions
• Limited visibility and policy enforcement from a central dashboard
• Resource-intensive workflows to comply with NIST 800-53 Rev. 5 and SOC 2 Type II
• Inability to cover a multi-cloud expansion to Azure and GCP

While their existing solutions worked for their starting circumstances, a proactive, cloud-native scanning solution was vital to support their growth and evolving industry threats.

Selecting Cloud Storage Security

ikeGPS discovered Cloud Storage Security Antivirus for Amazon S3 on AWS Marketplace and began with a free trial to validate the platform’s capabilities. Immediately, the trial demonstrated an ability to improve efficiency, visibility, and compliance in their existing workflows.

Impressed with the results, ikeGPS expanded to an annual subscription, placing CSS at the center of its storage-layer security strategy.

Within 48 hours their solution was operational. Deploying CSS enabled ikeGPS to manage their AWS accounts across regions from a unified, user-friendly interface. Teams gained the ability to schedule scans, set alert parameters, and generate audit-ready reports. Stakeholders noted the immediate added value, ease of adoption, and responsiveness of CSS support.

Cloud Storage Security Antivirus for Amazon S3 on AWS Marketplace

Results of Proactive Scanning and Security

After transitioning to CSS’s scalable platform, ikeGPS achieved measurable improvements across efficiency, security, and compliance.

• Reduced operational burden on four engineers by redesigning antivirus into a self-service DevOps task, saving critical team hours
• Boosted productivity across the engineering team and improved ROI
• Increased cost efficiency by lowering labor costs, increasing productivity, and shortening audit timelines
• Audit preparation time dropped through automated evidence collection
• Malware scanning throughput increased more than fivefold, enabling seamless processing of multi-terabyte files
• Threat detection and remediation times decreased from hours to minutes through automated workflows
• Delivered centralized visibility through one tool with one interface

For ikeGPS, storage-layer security is defined by centralized, automated scanning that scales effortlessly with business growth. Event-driven triggers ensure threats are neutralized before impacting downstream operations. Automated workflows remove bottlenecks, and DevOps pipeline integration embeds protection directly into the development lifecycle.

Key capabilities in ikeGPS’s deployment include:

• In-tenant malware scanning so sensitive data never leaves the company’s environment
• Centralized policy management for all accounts and regions
• AWS Security Hub integration for real-time detection and automated remediation
• Readiness to extend scanning across storage platforms like Amazon FSx, Amazon EFS, or go multi-cloud with Azure and GCP
• DevOps integration enabling automated scans within CI/CD workflows

Considering compliance, the CSS solution aligns with NIST 800-53 Rev. 5 SI-3 and supports SOC 2 Type II evidence collection to strengthen the company’s security posture and reduce time spent preparing for audits.

About AWS Partner Cloud Storage Security

Cloud Storage Security (CSS) protects storage-layer data so businesses can operate with confidence. Its malware detection addresses the scanning needs of commercial, regulated, and public sector organizations worldwide while ensuring no data leaves the customer's environment. CSS's Data Security and Posture Management platform expands on its malware scanning solution to ensure all data in cloud storage, once validated as secure, remains secure. With DataDefender, customers can monitor scanned data to see who accesses it and when, where it lives, and what it holds, ensuring proper configuration controls are in place.  

CSS holds certifications including SOC 2, AWS Security Competency, and AWS Public Sector Partner status.

To learn more, visit cloudstoragesecurity.com

Sources

1. Reuters, September 2024 — US utilities hit by 70% surge in cyberattacks.
2. Check Point Research, Cyber Attack Trends: 2024 Mid-Year Report.