OpenAI engineer arrested for hiding recording device in office

newsOct 13, 202661229

Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national employed at OpenAI, was arrested on Oct. 9 after prosecutors said a "sophisticated" audio recorder was found concealed in an executive conference room. The device was plugged into a USB port on the back of a conference-room television and wrapped in toilet paper, and OpenAI personnel discovered it after installing staff located the device. The DOJ said Alfozan was not authorized to access that executive conference room; footage places him near the room on multiple days and shows him entering it on Oct. 5. Investigators recovered a bag in the building on or about Oct. 5 that contained Alfozan's wallet, ID, and a second recording device similar to the one in the room. The complaint says a chatbot account tied to Alfozan's spouse submitted prompts about continuous audio recording, Wi-Fi, obfuscation, and remote access, and that the device's contents were encrypted. OpenAI said it terminated the employee and that, at this time, it has no indications he accessed or exfiltrated model weights, source code, or customer data. Alfozan is listed as a partner at Raed Ventures, a Riyadh-based venture firm that announced his venture partner role in February 2025, and FBI Director Kash Patel said the device was intended to capture sensitive communications about the company's super intelligence technology.

James Pirruccello 🎃🦇🧹

@jamespirruccello.com

He used ChatGPT to make the listening device that he put in OpenAI’s sensitive office? Bro sfstandard.com/2026/10/13/o...

755h ago

Jonathan10

Was there an expectation of privacy if an AI was listening?

buermann.bsky.social1

oh dear somebody's privacy was invaded?

C What?1

lol the dude hid it in toilet paper….in the back of a TV it was plugged into. It was probably more noticeable that way. Also he was Saudi? Our Middle East buddies? Say it ain’t so, Don.

Quoting this

Joey Politano🏳️‍🌈210

Guy is a Saudi national, which obviously isn’t a guarantee he was working for Saudi intelligence, but this is the caliber of work I would expect out of Saudi intelligence services

Ed66

he’s using the product, he’s establishing customer empathy, get off his back

Never stop poasting46

"he us Chatgpt to make the listening device that he put in OpenAI's sensitive office? Bro." (2026)

jenn schiffer 😎39

“OpenAI described the device as sophisticated and designed to evade detection” it was wrapped in white toilet paper behind a black television

Aiun Gives You Wings8

i'm sort of tired of all the dramatic bullshit from ai 2027 happening ngl

Steve Herman

@newsguy.bsky.social

A Saudi engineer at OpenAI arrested for allegedly bugging his employer's executive conference room. - DoJ

354h ago

Amee Vanderpool

@girlsreallyrule.bsky.social

US federal agents arrested a Saudi national employed as an OpenAI engineer and ‌charged him with installing a hidden audio recording device in an executive conference room at the AI company, the Justice Department confirmed on Tuesday. www.reuters.com/world/us/fbi...

343h ago

Andrew Couts

@couts.bsky.social

NEW: The criminal complaint against an OpenAI engineer reveals that, according to investigators, he allegedly used a $14 device to spy on company executives’ meetings. @peard33.bsky.social, @regret.bsky.social, and @carolinehaskins.bsky.social report: www.wired.com/story/an-ope...

142h ago

Quoting this

Peoria Bummer2

If a photo like this appears in your indictment, you are turbofucked.

Alex Shultz

@alexshultz.bsky.social

photo in here of the OpenAI engineer (allegedly!) checking on the listening device he secretly installed is an all-timer sfstandard.com/2026/10/13/o...

195h ago

Grant Marek

@grantmarek.bsky.social

"OpenAI allegedly caught Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old engineer from Saudi Arabia, planting a device wrapped in toilet paper into the USB port of a television in an executive conference room." via @sfgate.com www.sfgate.com/tech/article...

143h ago

Magnus Lehnsherr

@i-magnus.bsky.social

An OpenAI engineer from Saudi Arabia planted a recording device embedded in a USB drive in a conference room TV and went undetected for 2 days. Any HR and IT staff worth their salt now have to ask, what other attack vectors are being exploited by bad actors who weren't properly vetted. Mess.

43h ago

Climate, Ecology, War & More: Dr. Glen Barry BigEarthData.ai

@bigearthdata.ai

OpenAI employee arrested after recording device found in office ->The Guardian | More on "Corporate espionage and workplace surveillance" at BigEarthData.ai | #OpenAI

22h ago

Sung Kim

@sungkim.bsky.social

A person allegedly planted a sophisticated recording device in OpenAI conference room. Now terminated and referred to FBI. bnonews.com/index.php/20...

64h ago

Michael O' 🇮🇪🇺🇲🇨🇦

@socratesxxx.bsky.social

BBC News - Saudi man charged with planting 'sophisticated' recording device in OpenAI office www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

14h ago

Yonette Joseph

@sugarcane99.bsky.social

OpenAI employee arrested by FBI after “sophisticated” recording device was found in an executive conference room. The man was charged with using a listening device planted in the company's office to “intercept oral communications,” the Justice Department said. wapo.st/4ihn0J8

34h ago

Matt Simon

@crawlycreepy.bsky.social

My fave aspect of the OpenAI corporate espionage recording device is that it was wrapped in toilet paper to "disguise" it while it was plugged into a USB port

43h ago

Maya Media

@mayamedia.bsky.social

No honor among fascists. OpenAI employee arrested over alleged recording device at headquarters youtu.be/mbJcHevkYtc

43h ago

Ahmad Algohbary

@ahmadalgohbary.bsky.social

Saudi OpenAI Engineer Arrested Over Alleged Secret Recording Device Source: apnews.com/article/ai-f...

24h ago

thehype.

@thehype.news

fbi arrests openai employee over hidden recorder engineer abdulrahman alfozan, 35, allegedly planted a recorder in an exec conference room – plugged into a tv's usb, hidden with toilet paper. found sep 30. openai used its own ai to id him. no evidence he accessed weights, code, or user data

14h ago

3 sources

cnbc.comFBI arrests Saudi OpenAI employee who allegedly planted recording device in conference room bbc.comSaudi employee charged with planting recording device at OpenAI office thehill.comSaudi national arrested after allegedly hiding recording device in OpenAI office

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OpenAI engineer arrested for hiding recording device in office

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