A Saudi national has been charged with secretly planting a recording device in one of OpenAI's offices in California, federal prosecutors announced. Abdulrahman Alfozan, who worked at the AI firm as an engineer, faces federal charges for using or attempting to use an electronic device to intercept oral communications.
Discovery of the Device
OpenAI reported that it discovered a "sophisticated recording device" hidden in their San Francisco office and alerted the FBI. The company utilized its AI models to determine that the device had been planted by an employee. Prosecutors revealed that the device, wrapped in toilet paper, was found inserted in a USB port on the back of a TV in an executive conference room.
OpenAI, the maker of the popular chatbot ChatGPT, stated that there is no indication that source code, model weights, or customer data were accessed or taken during the incident. The company confirmed that the employee has been fired.
Allegations Against Alfozan
According to the complaint, Alfozan "allegedly concealed a covert recording device inside his employer's executive conference room to secretly capture sensitive communications," said FBI Director Kash Patel in a statement. The alleged goal was to capture information about the company's AI product. Prosecutors indicated that Alfozan had been working as an engineer at OpenAI since July 2025.
