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OpenAI said it has alerted the FBI after discovering that an employee allegedly planted a hidden recording device in one of the AI maker\u2019s office executive conference rooms.<\/p>\n
The employee, named by federal prosecutors as Saudi national Abdulrahman Alfozan, was fired and arrested on October 9, about a week after OpenAI discovered the surveillance device.<\/p>\n
The company said in a post on X<\/a> that it used its internal AI models to understand the \u201csophisticated\u201d device. OpenAI told TechCrunch that the device contained \u201cadvanced encryption, audio monitoring capabilities, and a mechanism for transferring data designed to evade monitoring,\u201d though it is unclear to what degree this device is technically distinct from other recording devices.<\/p>\n \u201cAt this time, we have no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data,\u201d said OpenAI in its post on X.<\/p>\n OpenAI\u2019s spokesperson, Nate Evans, confirmed that the employee started with the AI model maker in July 2025 and worked on the product team.<\/p>\n Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Northern District of California said Alfozan was charged with using an electronic device to intercept oral communications \u2014 effectively accusing him of covertly recording people\u2019s voice audio without their permission. Prosecutors said OpenAI caught the device after it was inserted into a USB port on the back of a television in OpenAI\u2019s San Francisco office.<\/p>\n Per the prosecutors, Alfozan was caught looking behind the television where the recording device was placed, and where OpenAI had placed a camera that allegedly caught the employee.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear exactly for what purpose the recording device was used, but FBI director Kash Patel said the scheme was to \u201ccapture sensitive communications about the company\u2019s super intelligence technology.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Neither Alfozan nor his attorney could be immediately reached for comment. He faces five years in prison if convicted.<\/p>\n When reached, a spokesperson for the FBI reiterated a statement<\/a> made by Patel.<\/p>\n \u201cProtecting American SI innovation is essential to safeguarding our nation\u2019s economic strength and national security, and the FBI views that mission as one of our highest counterintelligence priorities,\u201d Patel said. <\/p>\n When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n