Revenge is often a motivation for employees who feel wronged or slighted by their organization. In this scenario, the employee's resignation following a missed promotion and the immediate subsequent data exfiltration suggest a revenge-motivated insider threat. Other motivations like financial gain or data exfiltration for espionage purposes are less direct in linking the disgruntled employee's actions to the incident. Philosophical/political beliefs is unlikely the motive in this context, as the act of retaliation is personal rather than ideological.