OpenAI engineer accused of bugging conference room arrested, booked one-way flight to Saudi Arabia

Abdulrahman Alfozan was nabbed by the FBI only three days before his one-way flight to Saudi Arabia was set to take off.

Prosecutors say Abdulrahman Alfozan, charged over a recording device at OpenAI, had tickets for Oct. 12 via Istanbul

OpenAI has referred a security incident to the FBI after discovering a concealed audio recording device in an executive conference room at its San Francisco headquarters. [Read More]

Abdulrahman Alfozan kept ties in Saudi Arabia while he rose in Silicon Valley, until federal agents accused him of hiding a recorder behind a conference-room television.

Abdulrahman Alfozan kept ties in Saudi Arabia while he rose in Silicon Valley, until federal agents accused him of hiding a recorder behind a conference-room television.

In a shocking turn of events, OpenAI has fired Abdulrahman Alfozan after a clandestine recording device was found in an executive conference room. The FBI has since apprehended Alfozan, a Saudi national, charging him with the interception of communications. Records show he had been with OpenAI since July 2025, accessing secure areas unlawfully.

The incident is poised to heighten concerns about the security at top tech companies at a moment when nations are competing to develop more powerful AI systems.

Saudi national Abdulrahman Alfozan was due to fly to Saudi Arabia on October 12, US prosecutors say in court filing.

The arrest was a "surprise," said the attorney, and the suspect, Abdulrahman Alfozan, was "proud" to be an OpenAI employee.

The employee, now fired, had said he advised government agencies in Saudi Arabia. He was also listed as a partner at a venture firm with a Saudi prince.

U.S. federal agents arrested a Saudi national employed as an OpenAI engineer after he allegedly installed a hidden audio recording device in an executive conference room. Mashable tech editor Tim Werth joins CBS News to discuss.

The episode rekindled fears over AI-powered crimes at a moment of heightened sensitivity over tech trade secrets.

Newly unsealed court filings say Abdulrahman Alfozan, his wife and a third family member had booked travel for October 12

Prosecutors asked a judge to keep details of the case under seal, fearing that suspected eavesdropper Abdulrahman Alfozan would flee the country.

Federal prosecutors previously asked a judge to seal their case against Abdulrahman Alfozan due to fears he might flee the US.

An OpenAI engineer has been fired and hit with federal charges, accusing him of bugging the company's headquarters.

"Like countless Americans, Mr. Alfozan came to this country years ago as a young person with a dream," his criminal defense lawyer said Wednesday.

The Department of Justice, yesterday: An employee of OpenAI has been arrested for and charged with using or endeavoring to use an electronic, mechanical, or other device to intercept oral communications. Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a national of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was arrested on Oct. 9, and made his initial appearance in federal court today. “This serious situation underscores why winning the global super intelligence race is a national security prerogative — and why President Trump’s leadership in creating the Super Intelligence Force is so important,” said Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton. “I thank Director Patel and our FBI partners for their diligence and swift action. The intelligence community remains committed to safeguarding America’s cutting-edge intellectual property from foreign threats.” “According to the complaint unsealed today, Abdulrahman Alfozan allegedly concealed a covert recording device inside his employer’s executive conference room to secretly capture sensitive communications about the company’s super intelligence technology,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Protecting American SI innovation is essential to safeguarding our nation’s economic strength and national security, and the FBI views that mission as one of our highest counterintelligence priorities. Four references to “super intelligence” in two paragraphs. Not weird at all. Alfozon, unsurprising, was fired.  ★ 

Abdulrahman Alfozan, the OpenAI engineer charged over a hidden recording device, had one-way tickets to Saudi Arabia booked for three days after his arrest, according to a court filing. He has entered no reported plea and is presumed innocent. The OpenAI engineer charged over a hidden recording device had a one-way ticket out of the […] This story continues at The Next Web

The OpenAI employee who was arrested and charged with allegedly using a hidden recording device in one of the ChatGPT maker’s San Francisco offices had a one-way ticket to Saudi Arabia booked for Oct. 12, according to a court filing.

An OpenAI engineer has been arrested after allegedly planting a secret recoring device in one of the company's conference rooms. Scott Stedman, investigative journalist at The Newsground, dug into the suspect's background.

FBI arrests Saudi OpenAI engineer over hidden recording device Submitted by MEE staff on Wed, 10/14/2026 - 17:19 OpenAI discovered the thumb-sized device connected to a USB port behind a TV in its San Francisco executive meeting room A man described as Abdulrahman Alfozan, a Saudi national employed as an OpenAI engineer, looks behind a TV where a recording device had been placed in OpenAI offices in San Francisco, California, in a still image obtained from surveillance video on 5 October 2026 (Department of Justice/Handout via Reuters) Off A former OpenAI engineer faces US federal charges for planting a hidden recording device in an executive conference room, raising concerns about the protection of sensitive AI technology. The US Department of Justice said in a statement on Tuesday that federal authorities last week arrested Saudi national and former OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, for allegedly placing a secret audio recording device inside an executive conference room at the AI company. Alfozan made his initial appearance in federal court on Tuesday. According to an FBI complaint, Alfozan had worked at OpenAI since July 2025. OpenAI discovered the device on 30 September. It was connected to a USB port behind a television in an executive meeting room in its San Francisco office.  The complaint said the thumb-sized device, with a microphone and camera, was hidden inside toilet paper and installed around 28 September, but its stored data was encrypted and inaccessible. Investigators also found a similar customised device in Alfozan's personal bag. According to the FBI complaint, Alfozan had also used an AI productivity tool to find information about meeting room schedules and capabilities. OpenAI said on X it used its own AI models to identify the person who had set up the device and trace its origins. The company also reported finding evidence that the employee planned to place more recording devices in other sensitive office areas to secretly record meetings. "At this time, we have no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data. The employee was terminated," the company said. The FBI continues to investigate the incident OpenAI reported.  Former Polish governments used Israeli software to spy on opposition, says PM Read More » "Abdulrahman Alfozan allegedly concealed a covert recording device inside his employer's executive conference room to secretly capture sensitive communications about the company's super intelligence technology," FBI director Kash Patel said in the statement. The incident has raised concerns about security and the protection of confidential information, as companies and governments compete to develop advanced AI technology. Alfozan has been a legal permanent resident of the US since September 2020. His LinkedIn profile reportedly lists studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, Berkeley, as well as previous employment at Meta and Microsoft.  Middle East Eye could not independently verify the details in his LinkedIn profile. If convicted, Alfozan could face up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. He had not publicly responded to the allegations at the time of reporting. US Politics News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

An OpenAI employee has been arrested and accused of planting a hidden recording device inside an executive conference room at the company’s San Francisco offices. Bloomberg’s Rachel Metz discusses the FBI investigation, how the inexpensive device was discovered and OpenAI’s response. She joins Ed Ludlow on "Bloomberg Tech." (Source: Bloomberg)

The FBI has arrested Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old OpenAI engineer who allegedly planted a recording device in the company's headquarters. CBS News' Lauren Fichten has more.

Espionage in AI labs poses a national security threat, according to US intelligence and security officials.

FBI says Abdulrahman Alfozan, his wife and a third unnamed family member also had one-way tickets to Saudi Arabia via Istanbul.

OpenAI engineer faces 5 years and $250K fine as FBI lobs foreign spy charges.

The FBI arrested an OpenAI employee from Saudi Arabia on charges that he hid a covert listening device inside the company's executive conference room to spy on the AI giant's inner workings. The post FBI: Saudi Arabian OpenAI Employee Planted Bug to Spy on Executives appeared first on Breitbart.

Abdulrahman Alfozan had worked for the AI giant for more than a year before he was arrested by the FBI.

An engineer at OpenAI has been charged with secretly installing a recording device inside a conference room in what officials said Tuesday was an effort to capture sensitive conversations about the company’s technology.The employee, identified as a 35-year-old Saudi national named Abdulrahman Alfozan, was arrested Friday, a week after the ChatGPT maker discovered an audio recording device hidden inside a company conference room, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in San Francisco.The complaint did not identify the company, but the company confirmed in a separate statement that it had discovered a “sophisticated recording device that was hidden inside one of our offices,” reported the finding to the FBI and fired the employee.“We used our models to understand the device and where it had come from, identifying that a specific employee had planted it a few days earlier. We referred the matter to the FBI, and we’re grateful to the agents and prosecutors who moved quickly to make an arrest. The FBI’s investigation is ongoing and we will continue to support their work,” an OpenAI spokesperson said.“At this time, we have no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data. The employee was terminated,” the statement said.The complaint does not detail what Alfozan might have wanted to do with any captured communications, but the company said the device was sophisticated, designed to evade detection and featured advanced encryption and audio monitoring capabilities. OpenAI said it had evidence the employee planned to place other listening devices throughout other parts of the office building for the purpose of recording meetings.“This alleged attempt by a Saudi national to steal sensitive communications from OpenAI was taken extremely seriously. Theft of intellectual property involving cutting-edge super intelligence technology poses a serious threat to our national security,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement on X.Alfozan made his first court appearance Tuesday on a charge of using or endeavoring to use an electronic, mechanical, or other device to intercept oral communications. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf. He is due back in court on Oct. 19.The recording device was found September 30 concealed in toilet paper and inserted into a USB port on the back of a television in an executive conference room, according to the complaint.Though the conference room where the recording device was found did not have a security camera at the time the object was installed, closed-circuit television footage inside the company’s offices revealed that Alfozan was near the conference room on nearly a dozen occasions last month despite not having any authority to access the space or participate in meetings there, the complaint says.The company subsequently added a camera to the room that last week captured Alfozan entering and checking behind the television where the recording device had been installed, according to the FBI.The complaint also alleges that he used a productivity tool to make multiple inquiries about the company’s building addresses, meeting rooms, meeting-room capacities and calendars.Days before his arrest last week, the complaint says, Alfozan left behind an unattended bag in a different room that, when opened by OpenAI personnel, was found to contain his wallet, identification and another recording device similar to the one placed in the conference room. —Eric Tucker, Associated Press

The FBI arrested Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national and former OpenAI engineer, who allegedly planted a recording device inside the artificial intelligence company’s San Francisco office late last month. Friday’s arrest, which was revealed by OpenAI and the Justice Department on Tuesday, is particularly concerning to the administration as it pursues global AI dominance. […]

The ex-OpenAI employee allegedly wrapped a USB device in toilet paper and inserted it into a television located in an "executive conference room".

OpenAI recording device case: FBI arrests Saudi engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan for hiding an encrypted recorder in a San Francisco meeting room. He faces up to 5 years.

DOJ and the FBI are continuing their investigation to determine whether the suspect acted independently or was working on behalf of external organizations or foreign governments.

US FBI said Abdulrahman Alfozan was engineer at the tech giant from June 2025.

The FBI arrested an OpenAI engineer for allegedly planting a recording device in a company office. CBS News' Jo LIng Kent reports.

The Saudi national who was arrested for allegedly planting a covert listening device at OpenAI’s offices has extensive experience working at leading technology companies in the US and serves as a venture partner at a Saudi venture capital firm.

Saudi OpenAI employee was arrested over allegations he planted a hidden device to record sensitive company conversations

Arrest of computer engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan has shocked tech figures in Saudi Arabia, where he is deeply connected

The arrest of an OpenAI employee accused of planting a bug in an office of the artificial intelligence giant flags another concern for the industry.

Startup espionage has been pursued for far less, but the FBI’s quick work and public rollout of the arrest shows how high the stakes are for the US government and frontier labs.

Who is Abdulrahman Alfozan the Saudi engineer accused of spying on OpenAI

Federal authorities said they arrested and charged a Saudi-born engineer at OpenAI after he was accused of secretly planting a recording device inside the tech giant's headquarters to capture prized information about the company.

A Saudi national employed by OpenAI has been arrested after the company discovered a concealed recording device inside an executive conference room at its San Francisco headquarters. The matter has been referred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, was arrested on October 9, according to the US Department of Justice. OpenAI confirmed on Tuesday that it had discovered a “sophisticated recording device” and used one of its artificial intelligence (AI) models to identify the device and trace its origins, The Guardian reports.The company said it had established “that a specific employee had planted it a few days earlier”, adding: “At this time, we have no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data. The employee was terminated.”NEWS RELEASE out of @FBISanFrancisco: Saudi National Arrested for Installing Surreptitious Audio Recording Device at San Francisco Super Intelligence CompanyRead more about how this #FBI is protecting American businesses and defending national security. https://t.co/whUZzwwH6q https://t.co/nfUGfgXl15— FBI (@FBI) October 13, 2026Recording Device Allegedly Hidden Inside Conference RoomAccording to the Justice Department, Alfozan allegedly connected an encrypted recording device, concealed inside toilet paper, to a television in an executive conference room on September 28.The room was regularly used for meetings involving confidential information. A security sweep two days later uncovered the device, while surveillance footage allegedly showed Alfozan moving around the conference room in the days preceding its discovery.Investigators also recovered a second identical recording device from a bag Alfozan had left unattended at OpenAI's headquarters, according to the indictment.Chatbot Searches Raise Questions About Alleged SurveillanceThe indictment states that Alfozan submitted several prompts to an AI chatbot seeking information about OpenAI's internal infrastructure, including “building addresses, meeting rooms, meeting-room capacities and calendars, ‘leadership and exec’ locations”.His spouse allegedly used chatbots to research “building, customizing, installing, audio recording, testing, obfuscating, and remote accessing a device”.The inquiries included “‘build[ing] a continuous audio recorder,’ ‘customiz[ing] wifi … connectivity,’ ‘improv[ing] audio and live listening,’ and ‘encrypt[ing] the SD card’”.Investigators said the same chatbot account also contained queries referencing unique identifiers associated with the recording device discovered at the company's offices.If convicted, Alfozan could face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. He has not publicly commented on the indictment.OpenAI Says Investigation ContinuesOpenAI expressed appreciation for the swift action taken by federal investigators and prosecutors, saying it was “grateful to the agents and prosecutors who moved quickly to make an arrest”.The company confirmed that the investigation remains ongoing and emphasised its commitment to protecting confidential information, employees and technology.India Urges UN Human Rights Bodies To End Politicisation, Rejects Forest Rights Report Claims“We take protecting our technology, data, and people seriously, and as a matter of national importance. Our security program is designed to protect against a wide range of threat actors, from insider risks to cybercriminals to nation states, and this case is an example of how AI can help address these sophisticated security threats.”The company said its security systems were designed to counter threats ranging from internal breaches to cybercriminal activity and state-backed operations.Arrest Comes Amid Wider Security And Privacy ConcernsThe arrest comes as OpenAI faces scrutiny over a series of security and privacy controversies.In June, an AI agent hacked Australia's university healthcare system. Earlier this month, California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued an investigative subpoena to OpenAI concerning rogue hacking incidents.Also Watch:Last week, the company also dismissed three safety researchers for allegedly sharing sensitive information, describing their actions as “a breach of trust”.“They violated clear policies on handling sensitive information,” OpenAI said.The three researchers subsequently urged the company to honour its transparency commitments following incidents involving autonomous hacking.Meanwhile, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently said in an interview that society should accept “bad things” associated with AI in exchange for its benefits.Around the same period, senior safety leader David Robinson resigned from the company, citing a “broken” organisational culture and warning that AI developers were not “being nearly careful enough” as the technology advanced rapidly.

The incident is poised to heighten concerns about the security at top tech companies at a moment when nations are competing aggressively to develop more powerful AI systems.

A recording device wrapped in toilet paper and plugged into the back of a television in an executive conference room at OpenAI’s San Francisco office has led to the arrest of one of the company’s engineers. Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national who had worked at OpenAI as an engineer since July 2025, was arrested on October 9 and charged with using or endeavoring to use a device to intercept oral communications, the US Department … More → The post OpenAI engineer arrested for allegedly trying to eavesdrop on executive meetings appeared first on Help Net Security.

OpenAI discovers the recording device plugged into a USB port on the back of a television in an executive conference room at one of its San Francisco buildings on September 30

The thumb-sized device, which had a microphone and could connect to a camera, was concealed in toilet paper, according to an FBI complaint.

A Saudi national employed by OpenAI has been arrested after allegedly planting a sophisticated recording device inside one of the company’s San Francisco o Read More: https://punchng.com/saudi-man-arrested-over-hidden-recorder-at-openai-office/

An engineer at OpenAI has been charged with secretly installing a recording device inside a conference room in what officials say was an effort to capture sensitive conversations about the company’s technology

Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national working as an engineer at OpenAI has been arrested for allegedly planting a recording device at the AI giant's office.

OpenAI has made the decision to dismiss an engineering lead due to the discovery of a hidden recording device in a conference room. This device was secretly monitoring confidential discussions about AI technology. The technical surveillance team identified the breach, leading to the arrest of Abdulrahman Alfozan, who faces charges for intercepting oral communications. The FBI is actively investigating the incident, highlighting the critical need to safeguard AI innovations.

An OpenAI engineer has been charged with installing a recording device inside a conference room in what officials said was a bid to capture conversations about the firm’s technology.

OpenAI says it discovered a hidden recording device in one of its offices, wrapped in toilet paper behind a television.

FBI Director Kash Patel said protecting American super intelligence innovation is a major counterintelligence priority after a Saudi national working as an engineer at OpenAI was arrested for allegedly concealing a recording device in an executive conference room at the company’s San Francisco headquarters.FBI and partners arrested this individual after he allegedly concealed a recording device inside his employer's executive conference room to secretly capture sensitive communications about the company’s super intelligence tech - Thank you to @ODNIgov Jay Clayton @AGToddBlanche… https://t.co/lj0tSViti5— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) October 13, 2026 In a post on X, Patel said the FBI and its partners had arrested the individual after he allegedly hid a recording device inside his employer’s executive conference room to secretly capture sensitive communications concerning the company’s artificial superintelligence technology.“Protecting American SI innovation is critically important and FBI views it as one of our highest counterintelligence priorities,” Patel wrote, thanking the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, US Attorney Jay Clayton, Attorney General Todd Blanche and other law enforcement partners for their support. He added that the investigation was ongoing.The accused, Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, faces a federal charge of using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications. He is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.Who Is Abdulrahman Alfozan? What We Know About The Saudi Engineer Arrested For Allegedly Bugging OpenAI Office Who is Abdulrahman Alfozan? According to the criminal complaint, Alfozan had been working at OpenAI since July 2025 and allegedly had no authorisation to enter the conference room where the recording device was discovered. The US Justice Department describes him as an engineer, while the San Francisco Chronicle, citing prosecutors, reported that he worked on OpenAI’s product team. His LinkedIn profile lists him as an engineering lead at the company.Before joining OpenAI, Alfozan reportedly worked as a senior systems engineer at Meta and as a founding engineer at Nash, an artificial intelligence logistics infrastructure company.He made his first court appearance on Tuesday and remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for October 19, according to the Justice Department. OpenAI said it coordinated his termination with federal investigators to avoid interfering with the investigation. He was reportedly fired on the day of his arrest.Saudi Engineer Arrested For Allegedly Planting Recording Device In OpenAI Executive Conference Room, Faces Up To Five Years In Prison What Is He Accused Of? The complaint states that OpenAI employees discovered the recording device on September 30. It was allegedly concealed in toilet paper and connected to a USB port at the back of a television in the executive conference room. The company determined that the device had been installed around September 28 and that its contents were encrypted.The room regularly hosts discussions involving proprietary research, product plans, government engagements and commercial relationships, according to the Justice Department.If convicted, Alfozan faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a fine of up to USD 250,000 and three years of supervised release. The FBI is continuing to investigate the case.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNBC: An OpenAI employee was arrested after a "sophisticated recording device" was found hidden inside the executive conference room. Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, who is a national of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was arrested in connection with the matter, the DOJ said. The company said an employee planted the device a few days before it was found, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation "moved quickly to make an arrest," the post said. The employee was terminated. FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement that Alfozan "allegedly concealed a covert recording device inside his employer's executive conference room to secretly capture sensitive communications about the company's super intelligence technology." Alfozan is also listed as a partner at Raed Ventures, a venture capital firm that focuses on the Middle East and North Africa, according to its website. The firm announced on Feb. 6, 2025, that H.H. Prince Khalid Bin Bader Al Saud, a member of the Saudi royal family, had joined the firm as a venture partner. Alfozan was announced as a venture partner two days later. The Raed announcement for Alfozan lists Meta, Microsoft and SAP as previous roles and said he studied computer science and engineering at MIT. "At this time, we have no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data," OpenAI said in the post. "We take protecting our technology, data and people seriously, and as a matter of national importance." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

OpenAI used AI to catch Saudi employee planting spy device FBI arrests him

Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, was arrested on a federal charge of using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications, after a recorder was found hidden in an executive conference room at OpenAI's San Francisco headquarters. He is a Saudi national and is presumed innocent unless convicted. Who is Abdulrahman Alfozan?Prosecutors say Alfozan had worked at OpenAI since July 2025 and had no authority to enter the room where the device was found, according to the complaint. He made his first court appearance on Tuesday. The Justice Department says that he remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing on October 19. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.OPENAI EMPLOYEE DETAINED: PREVIOUSLY INTERVIEWED BY SAUDI STATE NEWS AGENCYAbdulrahman Alfozan, the Saudi employee detained over the alleged placement of a recording device at OpenAI, previously spoke to Saudi Arabia’s official news agency about AI, Saudi professionals in the… pic.twitter.com/T8FUu0ucNl— Subodh Kumar (@kumarsubodh_) October 14, 2026 His role at OpenAIThe Justice Department describes him as an engineer. The San Francisco Chronicle, citing prosecutors, said he worked on OpenAI's product team. His LinkedIn profile lists him as an engineering lead at OpenAI. OpenAI said it coordinated his termination with federal investigators to avoid interfering with the case, and he was reportedly fired on the day of his arrest.What did Alfozan do before OpenAI?Alfozan was previously a senior systems engineer at Meta and a founding engineer at Nash, an AI logistics infrastructure company. Newsweek separately described the Nash role as coming before his OpenAI job.Alfozan's educationAccording to his LinkedIn profile, Alfozan studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, Berkeley. An OpenAI engineer has been ARRESTED for allegedly planting a secret RECORDING DEVICE inside the company's San Francisco headquarters.The suspect, identified as 35-year-old Saudi national Abdulrahman Alfozan, reportedly hid the device inside an executive conference room.…— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) October 13, 2026 What does the complaint allege?Prosecutors allege that he asked a productivity tool about OpenAI's buildings, meeting rooms and executive locations, and that a chatbot account associated with his spouse sent prompts about building a recorder. He used an AI productivity agent for about a month through September 16. He was captured on CCTV near the TV where the recording device was planted. OpenAI says it has no indication that he improperly accessed model weights, source code or customer data.

SAN FRANCISCO — A Saudi employee of OpenAI was arrested after allegedly planting a recording device in one of the company’s San Francisco offices, the AI firm and federal prosecutors said Tuesday. “We discovered a sophisticated recording device that was hidden inside one of our offices” and “referred the matter to the FBI,” OpenAI told AFP in a statement. OpenAI’s security team found the device late last month and the employee, Saudi national Abdulrahman Alfozan, was arrested on October 9, the US Justice Department said. READ: Fired OpenAI staffers say safety warnings led to dismissal Alfozan, a 35-year-old engineer who had […]...Keep on reading: Saudi employee arrested for allegedly bugging OpenAI office

An OpenAI engineer has been arrested and charged with planting a hidden audio recorder in the company's executive conference room in San Francisco, the US Justice Department has confirmed. Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national, was arrested on October 9 and made his first appearance in federal court. The charge is unsealed from a criminal complaint, and he is presumed innocent unless convicted.What is Alfozan accused of?According to the complaint, OpenAI staff found the recorder on September 30, plugged into a USB port on the back of a television in the executive conference room. It had been concealed in toilet paper. OpenAI determined it was installed around September 28 and that its contents were encrypted. The Justice Department says the room regularly hosts talks on proprietary research, product plans, government engagements and commercial relationships.We discovered a sophisticated recording device that was hidden inside one of our offices. We used our models to understand the device and where it had come from, identifying that a specific employee had planted it a few days earlier. We referred the matter to the FBI, and we’re…— OpenAI Newsroom (@OpenAINewsroom) October 13, 2026 What the investigators allegeAlfozan joined OpenAI as an engineer in July 2025 and, according to the complaint, had no authority to enter or take part in meetings in that room. CCTV allegedly showed him near it on several dates before the discovery. Before September 28, the complaint says, he used a productivity tool to ask about OpenAI's buildings, meeting rooms, calendars and "leadership and exec" locations.A chatbot account linked to his spouse also allegedly sent prompts between September 24 and 30 about building a "continuous audio recorder," improving "live listening" and encrypting an SD card. Between September 27 and 28, it allegedly asked about the specific device, including its unique MAC address. The release does not say the spouse has been charged.On October 5, the complaint says, he went into the room and appeared to look behind the television. The same day, OpenAI security allegedly found his unattended bag in another room, holding his wallet, ID and a second, similar recorder.What is the charge?He is charged with using or trying to use a device to intercept oral communications. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. The FBI is investigating the case.OpenAI's responseOpenAI said it used its own models to understand the device and where it came from, and identified a specific employee. It referred the matter to the FBI. "We have no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data," the company said. The employee was fired.

The device was discovered during a regular sweep of a conference room where the device was found inserted into a USB port on the back of a TV screen and ‘concealed in toilet paper’.

Meetings in the room where the device was found involved discussions of proprietary research, product plans, government engagements, and more

The company used AI to identify the planted device and the person who placed it; the worker has been fired, OpenAI said

A Saudi National and employee of OpenAI has been arrested for allegedly planting a hidden recording device in an executive conference room at the company's San Francisco offices to covertly record sensitive conversations. Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, has been charged with using or endeavoring to use an electronic, mechanical, or other device to intercept oral communications. He was arrested by

An OpenAI engineer has been charged with installing a recording device inside a conference room in what officials said was a bid to capture conversations about the firm’s technology.

Washington: An engineer at OpenAI has been charged with secretly installing a recording device inside a conference room in what officials said Tuesday was an effort to capture sensitive conversations about the company's technology.The employee, identified as a 35-year-old Saudi national named Abdulrahman Alfozan, was arrested Friday, a week after the ChatGPT maker discovered an audio recording device hidden inside a company conference room, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in San Francisco.Also read: Meta says its new AI models on par with OpenAI, AnthropicThe complaint did not identify the company, but the company confirmed in a separate statement that it had discovered a "sophisticated recording device that was hidden inside one of our offices," reported the finding to the FBI and fired the employee."We used our models to understand the device and where it had come from, identifying that a specific employee had planted it a few days earlier. We referred the matter to the FBI, and we're grateful to the agents and prosecutors who moved quickly to make an arrest. The FBI's investigation is ongoing and we will continue to support their work," an OpenAI spokesperson said.— OpenAINewsroom (@OpenAINewsroom) "At this time, we have no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data. The employee was terminated," the statement said.The complaint does not detail what Alfozan might have wanted to do with any captured communications, but the company said the device was sophisticated, designed to evade detection and featured advanced encryption and audio monitoring capabilities.OpenAI said it had evidence the employee planned to place other listening devices throughout other parts of the office building for the purpose of recording meetings."This alleged attempt by a Saudi national to steal sensitive communications from OpenAI was taken extremely seriously. Theft of intellectual property involving cutting-edge super intelligence technology poses a serious threat to our national security," Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement on X.Alfozan made his first court appearance Tuesday on a charge of using or endeavoring to use an electronic, mechanical, or other device to intercept oral communications. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf. He is due back in court on Oct 19.The recording device was found September 30 concealed in toilet paper and inserted into a USB port on the back of a television in an executive conference room, according to the complaint.Though the conference room where the recording device was found did not have a security camera at the time the object was installed, closed-circuit television footage inside the company's offices revealed that Alfozan was near the conference room on nearly a dozen occasions last month despite not having any authority to access the space or participate in meetings there, the complaint says.The company subsequently added a camera to the room that last week captured Alfozan entering and checking behind the television where the recording device had been installed, according to the FBI.Also read: OpenAI and Anthropic fear a major AI crisis in the next 6 to 12 months. Here’s what they’re preparing forThe complaint also alleges that he used a productivity tool to make multiple inquiries about the company's building addresses, meeting rooms, meeting-room capacities and calendars.Days before his arrest last week, the complaint says, Alfozan left behind an unattended bag in a different room that, when opened by OpenAI personnel, was found to contain his wallet, identification and another recording device similar to the one placed in the conference room.

Abdulrahman Alfozan is alleged to have to have installed the recording device in an executive conference room at the AI company.

OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan was arrested after a hidden, encrypted recording device was found in an executive conference room at the company’s San Francisco office. The DOJ said he was not authorised to access the room.

The US AI firm referred the matter to the FBI after discovering a sophisticated recording device hidden inside one of its offices.

Accused allegedly hid thumb-sized device in company's executive conference room, faces five years in prison

WASHINGTON — An engineer at OpenAI has been charged with secretly installing a recording device inside a conference room in what officials said Tuesday was an effort to capture sensitive conversations about the company's technology . The employee, identified as a 35-year-old Saudi national named Abdulrahman Alfozan, was arrested Friday, a week after the ChatGPT maker discovered an audio recording device hidden inside a company conference room, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in San Francisco. The complaint did not identify the company, but the company confirmed in a separate statement that it had discovered a “sophisticated recording device that was hidden inside one of our offices," reported the finding to the FBI and fired the employee. “We used our models to understand the device and where it had come from, identifying that a specific employee had planted it a few days earlier. We referred the matter to the FBI, and we’re grateful to the agents and prosecutors who moved quickly to make an arrest. The FBI’s investigation is ongoing and we will contin

OpenAI Group PBC called in the Federal Bureau of Investigation to come and arrest one of its employees after a “sophisticated recording device” was discovered hidden within the artificial intelligence company’s executive conference room. Abdulrahman Alfozan (pictured in a CCTV image), a 35-year-old Saudi Arabian national, was arrested on Friday and appeared in a federal […] The post OpenAI fires Saudi employee accused of planting a bug in its executive conference room appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

A Saudi employee of OpenAI was arrested after allegedly planting a recording device in one of the company's San Francisco offices, the AI firm and federal prosecutors said Tuesday. "We discovered a sophisticated recording device that was hidden inside one of our offices" and "referred the matter to the FBI," OpenAI told AFP in a statement. OpenAI's security team found the device late last month and the employee, Saudi national Abdulrahman Alfozan, was arrested on October 9, the US Justice Department said.

Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national working as an engineer at OpenAI has been arrested for allegedly planting a recording device at the AI giant's office.

The suspect, Abdurahman Alfozan, is a Saudi national who joined OpenAI in 2025.

US authorities say a Saudi national was arrested and charged after allegedly planting a concealed surveillance device.

The FBI said on Wednesday it has arrested a Saudi national employed as an engineer at OpenAI on suspicions that he had bugged a conference room at the company's San Francisco office with a "sophisticated recording device".

An OpenAI engineer was arrested and charged for allegedly attempting to secretly record confidential conversations inside the artificial intelligence company’s San Francisco offices, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday. Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national who had worked for the ChatGPT maker since July 2025, was arrested Friday after company security personnel discovered a concealed […]

U.S. federal agents have arrested an engineer at OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, after the man allegedly planted a listening device inside an executive conference room at headquarters. Jo Ling Kent reports.

Abdulrahman Alfozan is accused of concealing an audio recording device in an executive conference room at OpenAI.

An OpenAI employee with Saudi Arabian links has been busted collecting sensitive conversations from inside a conference room. 

Chatbot prompts reveal the engineer’s alleged efforts to set up a covert listening device days before one was found in a meeting room used by high-level executives.

Saudi national Abdulrahman Alfozan was arrested Friday and terminated by OpenAI. The post Employee Arrested After Listening Device Found in OpenAI Conference Room, FBI and the Company Say appeared first on SecurityWeek.

Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national working as an engineer for OpenAI, was charged Tuesday with secretly bugging an executive conference room at one of the company’s buildings in San Francisco.

Discovery of ‘sophisticated’ gadget adds to company’s list of privacy concerns after hackings by rogue agentsOpenAI said it has found a hidden recording device in one of its offices and has referred the matter to the FBI. One of its employees has been arrested.In a statement on Tuesday, the San Francisco-based AI company said it discovered the “sophisticated recording device” and used one of its “models to understand the device and where it had come from”. Continue reading...

A Saudi OpenAI engineer has been arrested for allegedly planting a hidden recording device in an executive conference room at the company's San Francisco offices to secretly record sensitive conversations. [...]

OpenAI's security team found the device late last month, and the employee, a Saudi national, was arrested on October 9, the US Justice Department said.

Federal prosecutors say an OpenAI engineer concealed an encrypted audio recording device in toilet paper behind a conference-room television.

An OpenAI engineer has been arrested over a listening device found behind a television in an executive conference room, and is charged with endeavouring to intercept oral communications. OpenAI says no model weights, source code or customer data were taken. An OpenAI engineer has been arrested over a listening device found at the company’s San […] This story continues at The Next Web

An OpenAI employee from Saudi Arabia has been arrested after allegedly hiding a recording device in the company’s offices, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Tuesday. Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national who had worked as an engineer at OpenAI since last July, was charged with using or attempting to use a device to intercept...

A Saudi national working at OpenAI allegedly hid an encrypted audio recorder behind a TV in an executive meeting room. OpenAI says its own models helped trace it back to him.

Prosecutors say the device, wrapped in toilet paper, was found inserted in a USB port on the back of a TV in an executive conference room.

Employee identified as 35-year-old Saudi national named Abdulrahman Alfozan

A Saudi national who worked at OpenAI as an engineer is suspected of planting a recording device in one of the company's conference rooms.

OpenAI said that the employee had placed a device built to evade detection and that he had planned to secretly record meetings in other sensitive spaces.

A Saudi national employed by the artificial intelligence lab has been arrested after a listening device was planted in a company conference room.

A Saudi national employed by the artificial intelligence lab has been arrested after a listening device was planted in a company conference room.

An engineer at OpenAI has been charged with secretly installing a recording device inside a conference room in what officials say was an effort to capture sensitive conversations about the company’s technology

The Tuesday incident comes as the ChatGPT-maker, along with competitors, faces heightened scrutiny over its safety practices.

The FBI arrested a Saudi national who worked at OpenAI on the product team. The AI maker accused the employee of hiding a recording device in an executive conference room.

AI lab discovered a recording device and reported it to the FBI

Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a national of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was arrested on Friday.

An OpenAI engineer was arrested after the company said it discovered a "sophisticated recording device" hidden in one of its offices. The employee, 35-year-old Abdulrahman Alfozan, is charged with using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications, according to a report from The San Francisco Standard. OpenAI's post about the incident says […]

OpenAI Says Employee Planted "Sophisticated" Recording Device In Office; FBI Arrests Saudi National OpenAI said Tuesday that it found a hidden recording device in one of its offices, used its own AI models to work out who put it there, fired the employee and handed the matter to the FBI, which made an arrest. The company posted the account on X from its newsroom handle: "We discovered a sophisticated recording device that was hidden inside one of our offices," OpenAI said. "We used our models to understand the device and where it had come from, identifying that a specific employee had planted it a few days earlier. We referred the matter to the FBI, and we're grateful to the agents and prosecutors who moved quickly to make an arrest." OpenAI said it has "no indications" the employee accessed or exfiltrated model weights, source code or customer data. The company added that the FBI's investigation is ongoing and that it will keep supporting it, and it presented the episode as proof that its security program and its AI tools can counter threats from insiders to nation-state actors, calling protection of its technology "a matter of national importance." Abdulrahman Alfozan, a Saudi Arabian national, was arrested on October 9, more than a week after staffers at OpenAI discovered an audio recording device in the back of a television in an executive conference room, the Justice Department said on Tuesday. Alfozan is currently in federal custody. Alfozan had started at OpenAI in July 2025 and worked on the company’s product team, according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the information is not public. Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national employed by OpenAI, has been arrested for allegedly installing a hidden audio recording device at the company's San Francisco headquarters, according to officials. — Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) October 13, 2026 The claim that OpenAI's models identified the culprit is based entirely on OpenAI's own statement. Nothing outside the company has confirmed what the models did, or whether conventional means, such as badge logs or camera footage, did the same work. From the complaint: “Alfozan had been employed as an engineer by the company identified as “Company 1” since July 2025. On or about Sept. 30, Company 1 personnel discovered a surreptitious audio recording device (Recording Device 1) inserted into a USB port on the back of a television in an executive conference room inside one of Company 1’s buildings in San Francisco. Company 1 determined that the device, which had been concealed in toilet paper, was installed on or about Sept. 28, and that its contents were encrypted.” The announcement lands in a rough month for OpenAI's internal security. In the past two weeks the company fired three safety researchers, Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak and Mikita Balesni, for what it called "accessing and handling sensitive company information." The three published an open letter denying that they mishandled anything or leaked to the press, and warning that abrupt terminations are "chilling the open culture OpenAI has prized." An OpenAI memo said the decisions "were not about raising safety concerns or speaking out." Nothing reported so far links those firings to the recording device. The company is also under state scrutiny over its systems. As we reported, California Attorney General Rob Bonta subpoenaed OpenAI in an inquiry into cybersecurity incidents tied to its models, including the July breach of Hugging Face infrastructure that OpenAI traced to its own models escaping a restricted test environment. Alabama's attorney general announced a subpoena of his own on Aug. 24. FBI Director Kash Patel noted that the "investigation "ongoing", adding that: "Protecting American SI innovation is critically important and FBI views it as one of our highest counterintelligence priorities." Finally, we note that OpenAI has not said how long the device was recording. Tyler Durden Tue, 10/13/2026 - 16:40

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An employee at OpenAI has been arrested and charged with using a hidden recording device in the company’s office, according to statements from the artificial intelligence company and the US Justice Department.

A Saudi national has been charged with allegedly installing a hidden recording device at OpenAI.