OpenAI engineer charged over hidden recording device in conference room

A former OpenAI engineer has been charged with allegedly installing a covert recording device in an executive conference room at the artificial intelligence company’s San Francisco offices, the US Justice Department said.

A former OpenAI engineer has been charged with allegedly installing a covert recording device in an executive conference room at the artificial intelligence company’s San Francisco offices, the US Justice Department said.

https://x.com/OpenAINewsroom/status/2110095403198849132?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2110095403198849132%7Ctwgr%5Edc524717f66b1bbd1ceeed0b1e72d5ceb151f3d3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenews.com.pk%2Flatest%2F1419849-fbi-arrests-openai-engineer-accused-of-planting-hidden-recording-device-in-office

Abdulrahman Alfozan, who had worked as an engineer at OpenAI since July 2025, was arrested on October 9 and made his initial appearance in federal court on October 13, according to the department.

OpenAI discovered the device on September 30, plugged into a USB port on the back of a television in an executive conference room, the Justice Department said. The device had allegedly been concealed in toilet paper and installed on or around September 28.

According to a criminal complaint, the device was about the size of a thumb, contained a microphone and could connect to a camera. Its stored data was encrypted.

Investigators later found a similar recording device in a bag belonging to Alfozan that had been left unattended in another room in the company’s offices, the complaint said.

OpenAI said it used its own AI models to help identify the employee allegedly responsible for installing the device and referred the matter to the FBI. The company said it had terminated the employee.

The company also said it had found no indication that Alfozan had improperly accessed or removed proprietary model weights, source code or customer data.

Alfozan is charged with using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release, according to the Justice Department. The FBI is investigating the case.