This analytic rule monitors and detects suspicious preload hijacking through unauthorized modifications of the `preload` file on Linux systems. The `preload` file is crucial for controlling the order in which shared libraries are loaded, and an attacker may exploit this to introduce malicious code or alter application behavior. By using Linux Auditd to track changes to the `/etc/ld.so.preload` file, the rule flags unusual activity that may indicate a system compromise. The detection logic involves a Splunk search that identifies such modifications and aggregates relevant statistics including the count of incidents and timestamps for the first and last occurrences. Generally, it assists security teams in identifying potential manipulation that threatens the integrity of the Linux environment and enables responsive actions to mitigate risks. Implementing this detection requires proper syslog setup and normalization of data in Splunk to align with the Common Information Model (CIM).