Stopping a Cyber Attack with Synology Security

The Cyber Attack That Slipped Through Their Old Firewall And the Synology Security Advisor Strategy That Saved Them

In 2025 and 2026, cyber-attacks are becoming faster, quieter, and more difficult to detect. Many businesses still rely heavily on aging firewall appliances and outdated perimeter-based security models that were never designed for modern ransomware, credential theft, and lateral movement attacks.

At Epis Technology, we recently helped a client recover from a cyber incident that bypassed their older firewall infrastructure and exposed several hidden vulnerabilities inside their network environment.

What initially appeared to be a small malware alert quickly evolved into a much larger operational security issue involving suspicious network traffic, compromised credentials, and vulnerable internal systems.

Fortunately, the client’s Synology infrastructure and proactive monitoring tools helped us identify the deeper problem before ransomware deployment could fully execute.

The First Sign Something Was Wrong

The incident started when employees began reporting:

• Unusual login prompts
• Slower network performance
• Random application disconnects
• Suspicious outbound traffic alerts
• Failed file access attempts

Initially, the client believed the issue was caused by temporary network instability. However, deeper analysis quickly showed that unauthorized activity was occurring inside the environment.

How the Attack Bypassed the Existing Firewall

The company’s firewall hardware had not been modernized in several years.

While it still blocked many traditional threats, the environment lacked:

• Advanced behavior analysis
• Modern intrusion detection
• Strong segmentation policies
• Comprehensive endpoint visibility
• Updated remote access controls

The attackers exploited a combination of:

• Weak remote access exposure
• Compromised credentials
• Poor internal segmentation
• Legacy policy configurations

This type of attack has become increasingly common throughout 2025 because attackers now focus heavily on identity compromise and lateral movement instead of direct perimeter attacks alone.

Discovering the Internal Weaknesses

Once inside the environment, the attackers attempted to:

• Enumerate shared storage
• Scan internal systems
• Probe backup-connected devices
• Escalate privileges
• Identify vulnerable endpoints

Fortunately, the client’s Synology environment had several monitoring and security features already enabled, including Security Advisor, storage alerts, and activity monitoring.

These tools helped surface unusual behaviour much earlier than the aging firewall infrastructure alone.

How Synology Security Advisor Helped

Using Synology Security Advisor, Epis Technology identified:

• Weak account policies
• Outdated services
• Vulnerable configurations
• Unnecessary exposed ports
• High-risk administrative settings

Security Advisor helped provide visibility into several infrastructure weaknesses that had previously gone unnoticed.

This became a critical turning point in containing the attack before large-scale damage occurred.

Immediate Containment Actions

Epis Technology immediately initiated containment procedures to stop lateral movement and reduce further exposure.

We:

• Disabled compromised accounts
• Restricted remote access
• Segmented vulnerable systems
• Closed exposed services
• Audited administrative permissions
• Reviewed NAS access logs
• Expanded monitoring policies

These steps helped stabilize the environment and reduce additional attack surface exposure.

Building a Stronger Security Strategy

The client realized the problem was larger than a single malware incident. Their infrastructure needed modernization.

Over the next phase of the project, Epis Technology implemented:

• Stronger network segmentation
• Multi-factor authentication
• Improved Synology hardening
• Snapshot-enabled ransomware protection
• Backup monitoring workflows
• Microsoft 365 security improvements
• Better endpoint visibility
• Secure remote access redesign

The goal was not simply cleanup, but long-term operational resilience.

Why Modern Attacks Require Layered Security

One of the biggest cybersecurity lessons businesses are learning in 2025 and 2026 is that firewalls alone are no longer enough.

Organizations now require:

• Identity protection
• Backup security
• Infrastructure monitoring
• Behavioural analysis
• Network segmentation
• Endpoint visibility
• Recovery planning

Modern attacks often succeed through small overlooked weaknesses rather than direct brute-force attacks.

The Role of Synology in Modern Cybersecurity

Many businesses think of NAS systems only as storage devices, but modern Synology environments also provide valuable:

• Security auditing tools
• Snapshot protection
• Backup automation
• Monitoring capabilities
• Access visibility
• Recovery workflows

When properly configured, Synology infrastructure can become an important layer in broader cybersecurity strategy.

About Epis Technology

Epis Technology helps organizations modernize infrastructure security through Synology optimization, backup protection, cybersecurity hardening, and operational resilience planning. The company specializes in helping businesses reduce downtime, strengthen recovery readiness, and improve protection against evolving cyber threats.

Services include:

• Synology consulting and deployment
• Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace backups
• Large-scale storage solutions
• Backup automation and monitoring
• Cybersecurity hardening
• Disaster recovery planning
• IT infrastructure optimization

By combining layered security strategies with proactive monitoring and resilient storage architecture, Epis Technology helps businesses stay operational even as cyber threats continue evolving rapidly in 2025 and beyond.