OpenAI Engineer Accused of Planting Listening Device

A Saudi engineer employed by OpenAI has been arrested on suspicion of planting a listening device in an executive conference room at the company's San Francisco headquarters. U.S. prosecutors announced the arrest of Abdulrahman Alfozan on October 9.

The 35-year-old engineer also allegedly used a company productivity tool to search for office locations, meeting schedules, and the whereabouts of other employees, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

OpenAI's security team reportedly discovered a second device in Alfozan's unattended bag. The company stated that it has found no evidence that Alfozan improperly accessed or extracted model weights, source code, or customer data, and it remains unclear if any information was recorded.

Alfozan faces charges of using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications, an offense punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. California law also prohibits recording confidential communications without the consent of all parties involved.