Checkmate Ransom

[Gnole]

My LS2100 was connected to my network and accessed remotely by wired PCs, wireless PC, iPhones and iPads that are connected to the network or via the BuffaloNAS app. I only use it to serve my photos and music files and only family members have access.

Today I went to access a photo via the iPad app and found all of the files are renamed "Checkmated".
I then looked directly at the drive via a PC and found a Checkmate Ransomware text file with instructions for decrypting.
I turned off the Linkstation and unplugged it from the network. I do not need the data as I have multiple back-ups on various media; I only used the link station for convenience as a file server.

I am not a high-level tech so I am not at all clear on how this occurred. I keep up with the basics of my PC updates and Windows Defender so I do not understand the route to Linkstation when the PCs and iPads all are operating fine. But I do not update or interact with the Linkstation other than access it remotely so I'm not sure what I could have done to protect it. What safeguards did I not have?

In an case, can I wipe the LinkStation and reinstall files from backup? How do I do this? If I did this, is the virus still in the linkstation and could it reoccur?
Lol, I would consider just buying a new one and start over, but I don't know what to do differently to insure it doesn't happen again.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

-Greg