The rule titled 'ESXi Sensitive Files Accessed' focuses on monitoring access to crucial system and configuration files on a VMware ESXi host. The targeted files include sensitive authentication data and service configurations that are vital for the operation of ESXi, as well as VMware-specific settings. Accessing these files could signal that an adversary is either conducting reconnaissance, attempting to harvest credentials, or preparing for further malicious activities such as privilege escalation, lateral movement, or establishing persistence within the environment. To effectively detect such activities, the rule utilizes syslog data from the ESXi hosts and employs Splunk for search and detection. It includes specific searches looking for interactions with protected files and utilizes regular expressions to extract user and command data from logs. Implementation hinges on proper configuration of ESXi syslog outputs and suitable Splunk integrations to interpret the logs accurately, ensuring that security teams can react to potential threats accordingly.