FBI arrests and investigates this OpenAI engineer over a ‘sophisticated listening device’
An engineer at OpenAI has been charged with secretly installing a recording device inside a conference room in what officials said Tuesday was an effort to capture sensitive conversations about the company’s technology . The employee, identified as a 35-year-old Saudi national named Abdulrahman Alfozan, was arrested Friday, a week after the ChatGPT maker discovered an audio recording device…
An OpenAI engineer, identified as Abdulrahman Alfozan, has been arrested and charged by federal prosecutors in San Francisco for secretly installing a listening device inside a company conference room. The 35-year-old Saudi national allegedly planned to place additional listening devices throughout the office building to record meetings.
The device, described by OpenAI as "sophisticated" with advanced encryption and audio monitoring capabilities, was discovered concealed in toilet paper and inserted into a USB port on September 30 in an executive conference room. Alfozan was seen near the conference room on multiple occasions in September despite lacking any access privileges, and closed-circuit television footage captured him entering the room and checking behind the television where the device had been installed.
The employee had also inquired about the company's building addresses, meeting rooms, and calendars through a productivity tool. Before his arrest, Alfozan left behind an unattended bag containing his wallet, identification, and another recording device. OpenAI terminated the employee, and the FBI is continuing their investigation, focusing on the potential threat to national security posed by the theft of sensitive intellectual property.
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