The FBI has arrested an OpenAI engineer for allegedly planting a hidden recording device in a restricted executive conference room. The device, concealed inside a roll of toilet paper, was found two days after it was installed in a space where leadership discusses highly confidential technical progress, government engagements, and commercial partnerships.
Federal authorities identified the suspect as Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi Arabian engineer who became a permanent US legal resident in 2020. According to a Tuesday press release, Alfozan worked at OpenAI for more than a year. The FBI alleged that chatbot logs and CCTV footage indicated he used the USB device to spy on the company, risking the leakage of trade secrets in a manner that threatened national security.
The investigation points to September 28 as the likely date Alfozan planted the device by plugging it into the back of a conference room television. OpenAI discovered the hardware on September 30 and determined that its contents were encrypted. On October 5, days after the discovery, OpenAI installed a camera in the room. The resulting footage allegedly showed Alfozan attempting to retrieve the recording device on that same day.