OpenAI engineer arrested for planting covert recording device in San Francisco office
The FBI arrested an OpenAI employee after a hidden audio device was found in an executive conference room. Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, faces federal charges.
FBI arrests OpenAI engineer over bugging device hidden in executive conference room
The FBI arrested an OpenAI employee on Friday over a covert audio recording device found concealed inside one of the company's offices in San Francisco, nbcnews.com reports. Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national, made his initial appearance in federal court on Tuesday.
The device was discovered inserted into a USB port on a television in an executive conference room — an area where meetings regularly involved "highly confidential" and "nonpublic" information, according to the Justice Department. It had been hidden inside toilet paper and installed on or about 28 September; security personnel found it on or about 30 September.
OpenAI said it used its own internal AI models to identify the person responsible for planting the device and to trace its origins. The company stated it has "no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data."
Alfozan had been hired as an engineer in July 2025. Following his arrest, his employment was terminated. OpenAI said it took "gradual steps to contain the risk while the investigation continued," including restricting his access and placing him on administrative leave before the arrest was made.
FBI Director Kash Patel said 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."
A second device was also found. According to the criminal complaint, Alfozan left a bag unattended in a separate room in an OpenAI building on 5 October. Security personnel opened the bag and discovered a similar recording device inside. OpenAI said it has evidence the employee "intended to deploy other recording devices."
OpenAI referred the matter to the FBI, which continues to investigate. The company said its security programme is designed to address a broad spectrum of threats, ranging from insider risks to cybercriminals to nation-state actors, and described this case as an example of how AI tools can help counter sophisticated security threats.
The arrest comes during a turbulent period for the ChatGPT maker. OpenAI also disclosed on Friday that it had dismissed three researchers — Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak and Mikita Balesni — after an internal investigation found they had violated company policies on handling sensitive information. The three subsequently published a letter arguing that the abrupt firings risked creating uncertainty among staff and undermining a culture that had allowed researchers to raise safety concerns.
Separately, Reuters and other outlets reported recently that OpenAI told investors its annualised revenue for September stood at nearly $50 billion, a figure lower than what the company had previously signalled.
Alfozan is scheduled to appear in federal court again on 19 October.
Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)