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per usnews: The FBI has charged an OpenAI engineer with hiding a thumb-sized recorder wrapped in toilet paper in an executive conference room.
Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national, was arrested, he joined OpenAI in July 2025, if convicted, he faces up to 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine.
Staff found his hidden a thumb-sized recorder wrapped in toilet paper on September 30 in a USB port behind a television in one of OpenAI’s San Francisco buildings, about 2 days after installation.
It had a microphone and could link to a camera, but its stored data was encrypted and inaccessible.
OpenAI then added a camera to the room, which caught Alfozan entering and checking behind the television on October 5.
That day, security staff opened a bag he had left unattended in another room and found his wallet, ID and a second, similar recorder.
The FBI complaint says he had spent about a month, ending September 16, asking an AI productivity agent about meeting-room calendars and capabilities.
OpenAI says its internal AI models identified him and traced the device, and that it has evidence he planned to deploy more recorders.
No motive or recipient has been alleged, so the case’s weight turns on whether the FBI can show who the recordings were for.
truly unbelievable stuff going on. 🤯
FBI arrested a former employee in connection with a sophisticated listening device found hidden in one of OpenAI's offices.
OpenAI says it has no indication so far that the employee accessed or exfiltrated model weights, source code or customer data, yet it hasn’t said what the device itself recorded.
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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 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.
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.
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.
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