Saudi man charged with planting 'sophisticated' recording device in OpenAI office
Prosecutors say the device, wrapped in toilet paper, was found inserted in a USB port on the back of a TV in an executive conference room.
A Saudi engineer, Abdulrahman Alfozan, has been charged by federal prosecutors with secretly installing a sophisticated recording device in an OpenAI office in California. OpenAI's San Francisco office discovered the device, described as a "sophisticated" one, hidden in a USB port of a TV in an executive conference room. The device was found and reported to the FBI on September 30, 2025, two days after it was allegedly installed.
The device was encrypted, and investigators believe it was planted by Alfozan, who had been employed by OpenAI as an engineer since July 2025. According to the FBI, Alfozan used OpenAI's AI models to research sensitive locations within the company and methods to secretly place the audio equipment. The device was found wrapped in toilet paper.
OpenAI stated that no company data was compromised and the employee has been terminated. Prosecutors allege that Alfozan utilized AI tools to research and build the recording device, including prompts about building and customizing an audio recorder, improving audio connectivity, and encrypting an SD card. Alfozan appeared in court on October 5, and if convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Written by urgent.news from BBC News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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