Interactive Medical Systems

Interactive Medical Systems (IMS) functioned as a benefits administrator responsible for managing employee benefits programs for Wake County government. Its core services included processing health insurance claims, maintaining enrollment records, and administering retirement and other employee benefit plans. The organization acted as an intermediary between Wake County employees and various benefit providers, ensuring accurate disbursement of benefits and timely responses to employee inquiries. IMS handled sensitive personal information such as names, dates of service, and Social Security numbers as part of its benefits administration duties. By serving as the county’s former benefits administrator, it provided a centralized platform for benefits management across the county workforce. Its role required adherence to federal and state privacy regulations governing the handling of personal health and identification data.

The phishing incident disclosed in July 2019 affected approximately 1,900 Wake County employees, indicating that IMS’s benefits administration covered at least that many individuals within the county workforce. The breach exposed a range of personal data, with some employees having names, dates of service, and partial Social Security numbers compromised, while a smaller subset experienced exposure of full Social Security numbers and addresses. This incident highlighted IMS’s specialization in managing sensitive employee data for a public sector client. In response, IMS reported enhancing its security systems, enforcing stricter password policies, and increasing employee security training to mitigate future risks. Wake County officials emphasized that the breach originated solely within IMS’s systems and was unrelated to county operations or employee actions. No explicit details about IMS’s ownership, parent company, or subsidiary status are provided in the available sources.