OpenAI Employee Arrested over Hidden Listening Device, Company Says
OpenAI said its internal models traced the device to a 35-year-old engineer, who prosecutors say tried to capture confidential meetings.
- On Tuesday, OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan made his initial federal court appearance after being arrested Friday for allegedly planting a recording device in the company's San Francisco executive conference room.
- Security personnel discovered the device on September 30 concealed in toilet paper behind a television in a room frequently used for confidential research, product plans, and strategic discussions.
- OpenAI used internal AI models to identify Alfozan, while prosecutors allege a chatbot account linked to his spouse researched "build a continuous audio recorder" and queried meeting room locations.
- The company terminated Alfozan, who faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of using a device to intercept oral communications.
- FBI Director Kash Patel stated protecting U.S. AI innovation is among the bureau's highest counterintelligence priorities, as federal authorities continue their investigation into the breach.
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Saudi Man Charged With Planting Bug At OpenAI
The New York Times reports: OpenAI said on Tuesday that it had discovered a hidden recording device in one of its offices and traced it to an employee, and that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had arrested the worker. A team that searches for surveillance equipment found the device on Sept. 30 during a sweep … The post Saudi Man Charged With Planting Bug At OpenAI appeared first on Joe.My.God..
OpenAI engineer charged after boardroom bug found wrapped in toilet paper
The Department of Justice has charged an OpenAI engineer with attempting to intercept oral communications after allegedly planting a recording device in an exec conference room. Investigators claim company security staff found a second device in his bag. Saudi national Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, is described in court documents as an engineer at OpenAI who had worked there since July 2025, and has held permanent residency in the US since September …
OpenAI engineer arrested over alleged hidden recording device at company office
An OpenAI engineer has been arrested after allegedly installing a hidden audio recording device inside the company's office in San Francisco, the United States, according to statements released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and OpenAI.
The device was hidden behind a television set in a meeting room reserved for executives. OpenAI models were used to analyze its operation; the FBI then stopped a 35-year-old Saudi engineer
Abdulrahman Alfozan, engineer of OpenAI, was arrested on October 9 by the FBI and is indicted by the U.S. federal prosecutor for hiding an audio recording device in the meeting room of the San Francisco company's headquarters. According to the accusation, with the device the Saudi citizen spied on the meetings and tried to intercept communications [...] The article Arrested OpenAI engineer spying on meetings with a hidden device comes from Il Fa…
A secret recording device wrapped in toilet paper may have been hidden in OpenAI's California office by a Saudi engineer, federal prosecutors have alleged. The company said it used artificial intelligence to determine that an employee had placed the device in its San Francisco office and then notified the FBI. The device, wrapped in toilet paper, was found plugged into a USB port on the back of a TV in an executive meeting room on September 30, …
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