NAS is vulnerable to many of the exploits that plague Windows-based systems: viruses, worms, unauthorized access, data tampering, snooping and IP spoofing. But even though NAS runs on ubiquitous Ethernet and TCP/IP transport protocols, it's fairly easy to protect. The tough part is finding the right level of protection.

Any good security framework contains multiple security layers. If one layer is compromised, the target of the attack is still protected by other layers. In the case of NAS, network perimeter security is the outermost shield that keeps unauthorized people out of your LAN and storage network. If an attacker penetrates your perimeter security, authentication and file-access authorization will prevent access to files and folders on the NAS; and unless an attacker can guess an authorized account and its password, your data will still be protected.