OpenAI Engineer Arrested Over Alleged Hidden Recording Devices in San Francisco Office
A Saudi Arabian OpenAI engineer has been arrested on suspicion of planting a hidden recording device in the boardroom of the company’s San Francisco office and secretly recording sensitive conversations, according to the US Department of Justice.
The Justice Department announced Tuesday that Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, who had worked for OpenAI since July 2025, was arrested on October 9 and charged with unlawful interception of oral communications.
Recording device allegedly hidden in OpenAI boardroom
OpenAI security personnel discovered a recording device connected to a USB port behind a television in an executive conference room on September 30, the Justice Department said.
According to the department, OpenAI determined that the device had been hidden inside toilet paper and placed in the room around September 28. The device contained encrypted data.
“On or about September 30th, OpenAI personnel discovered a secret audio recording device (Recording Device 1) inserted into a USB port on the back of a television in a boardroom in one of the company’s buildings in San Francisco.” Department of Justice press release.
Source: Department of Justice
The conference room was regularly used for meetings involving sensitive information, including OpenAI’s proprietary research, product plans, technical capabilities, business relationships and government involvement, the Justice Department said.
Investigation linked employee to alleged recording device
Security camera footage repeatedly showed Alfozan near the conference room, even though he was not authorized to attend the meetings, according to the complaint.
The complaint also alleges that Alfozan used productivity tools to search for information about OpenAI’s offices, conference rooms, executive locations and meeting schedules.
In addition, a chatbot account associated with Alfozan’s spouse was allegedly used to ask questions about the construction and concealment of recording devices.
The questions included how to create a continuous audio recorder, change Wi-Fi connections, improve live-listening functionality and encrypt SD cards.
“The same chatbot account also sent prompts specifically related to Recording Device 1, including custom headers and a unique MAC address, between September 27 and September 28,” the Justice Department alleges.
On October 5, surveillance footage showed Alfozan returning to the conference room and looking behind the television where the device had been found.
That same day, OpenAI security personnel discovered a second similar recording device in a bag Alfozan had left in another room, according to the complaint.
OpenAI used an AI model to investigate, company says
In a statement posted on X, OpenAI said it used a proprietary AI model to investigate the suspicious devices and identify the employee responsible.
“We used a model to understand the device and where it came from, and identified that a specific employee had planted it several days ago,” OpenAI said.
The company said it fired the employee and reported the incident to the FBI.
“At this time, there is no evidence that this individual inappropriately accessed or compromised model weights, source code, or customer data,” OpenAI added.
Potential penalties
If convicted, Alfozan could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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Source: www.bleepingcomputer.com