The typical company culture of today is less of a strict clock-in/clock-out mentality than in years past. Company expectations on methods of work have morphed over the years, and employees checking personal email or performing some personal business on “company time” is often ignored or overlooked as long as it doesn’t interfere with the employees’ job performance.
The risks in today’s connected world are also significantly different than they were even 10 years ago. While employees may have checked personal emails or performed other personal business on occasion then as they do now, the risks of those activities when utilizing corporate resources today have increased dramatically. Web-based email services, such as Gmail and Yahoo, create additional holes in the security perimeter that many companies take such pains to protect. Malicious actors are well aware of these “attack vectors” and look for any opportunity to exploit them.