FBI agents arrested a 35-year-old OpenAI engineer accused of hiding an encrypted recording device in an executive conference room at the company's San Francisco offices.
Key Points:
- Prosecutors say an OpenAI engineer hid an encrypted recorder behind a conference room TV.
- Camera footage and a second device in his bag are part of the case.
- OpenAI found no sign that model weights, source code or customer data were taken.
OpenAI Recorder Charges
The Justice Department charged Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national who joined OpenAI as an engineer in July 2025, with using an electronic device to intercept oral communications. He was arrested on Oct. 9, and OpenAI confirmed he had worked on its product team. If convicted, Alfozan faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
According to the complaint, OpenAI staff found the recorder on or about Sept. 30, plugged into a USB port on the back of a television and wrapped in toilet paper. It had been installed about two days earlier, and its contents were encrypted.
Security camera footage showed Alfozan near the executive conference room on several dates before the discovery, even though he had no authority to enter it or join its meetings. On Oct. 5, he allegedly walked into the room and looked behind the television. The same day, security staff opened a bag he had left unattended in another room and found a second, similar recording device inside.
Prosecutors also say a chatbot account linked to his spouse asked between Sept. 24 and Sept. 30 how to build a continuous audio recorder, improve live listening and encrypt an SD card. The FBI is still investigating.
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Kash Patel Warning
FBI Director Kash Patel said the engineer allegedly planted the device to "secretly capture sensitive communications about the company's super intelligence technology." Patel said protecting such work is among the FBI's top counterintelligence priorities.
Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton said the case shows why winning the global super intelligence race is a matter of national security.
OpenAI fired Alfozan after first restricting his access and placing him on leave, and it said it had evidence he intended to deploy more recording devices. The company also said it used its own AI models to examine the device and found no sign he had accessed or taken model weights, source code or customer data.
OpenAI Security Scares
The case marks the latest security scare at OpenAI. In April, San Francisco police arrested a 20-year-old man suspected of throwing a Molotov cocktail at the home of CEO Sam Altman, setting an exterior gate on fire.
Officers later detained the suspect after he allegedly made threats at the company's headquarters.
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