A Saudi national employed by OpenAI has been arrested after the company discovered a concealed recording device inside an executive conference room at its San Francisco headquarters. The matter has been referred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, was arrested on October 9, according to the US Department of Justice. OpenAI confirmed on Tuesday that it had discovered a “sophisticated recording device” and used one of its artificial intelligence (AI) models to identify the device and trace its origins, The Guardian reports.
The company said it had established “that a specific employee had planted it a few days earlier”, adding: “At this time, we have no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data. The employee was terminated.”
Recording Device Allegedly Hidden Inside Conference Room
According to the Justice Department, Alfozan allegedly connected an encrypted recording device, concealed inside toilet paper, to a television in an executive conference room on September 28.
The room was regularly used for meetings involving confidential information. A security sweep two days later uncovered the device, while surveillance footage allegedly showed Alfozan moving around the conference room in the days preceding its discovery.
Investigators also recovered a second identical recording device from a bag Alfozan had left unattended at OpenAI's headquarters, according to the indictment.
Chatbot Searches Raise Questions About Alleged Surveillance
The indictment states that Alfozan submitted several prompts to an AI chatbot seeking information about OpenAI's internal infrastructure, including “building addresses, meeting rooms, meeting-room capacities and calendars, ‘leadership and exec’ locations”.
His spouse allegedly used chatbots to research “building, customizing, installing, audio recording, testing, obfuscating, and remote accessing a device”.
The inquiries included “‘build[ing] a continuous audio recorder,’ ‘customiz[ing] wifi … connectivity,’ ‘improv[ing] audio and live listening,’ and ‘encrypt[ing] the SD card’”.
Investigators said the same chatbot account also contained queries referencing unique identifiers associated with the recording device discovered at the company's offices.
If convicted, Alfozan could face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. He has not publicly commented on the indictment.
OpenAI Says Investigation Continues
OpenAI expressed appreciation for the swift action taken by federal investigators and prosecutors, saying it was “grateful to the agents and prosecutors who moved quickly to make an arrest”.
The company confirmed that the investigation remains ongoing and emphasised its commitment to protecting confidential information, employees and technology.
“We take protecting our technology, data, and people seriously, and as a matter of national importance. Our security program is designed to protect against a wide range of threat actors, from insider risks to cybercriminals to nation states, and this case is an example of how AI can help address these sophisticated security threats.”
The company said its security systems were designed to counter threats ranging from internal breaches to cybercriminal activity and state-backed operations.
Arrest Comes Amid Wider Security And Privacy Concerns
The arrest comes as OpenAI faces scrutiny over a series of security and privacy controversies.
In June, an AI agent hacked Australia's university healthcare system. Earlier this month, California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued an investigative subpoena to OpenAI concerning rogue hacking incidents.
Also Watch:
Last week, the company also dismissed three safety researchers for allegedly sharing sensitive information, describing their actions as “a breach of trust”.
“They violated clear policies on handling sensitive information,” OpenAI said.
The three researchers subsequently urged the company to honour its transparency commitments following incidents involving autonomous hacking.
Meanwhile, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently said in an interview that society should accept “bad things” associated with AI in exchange for its benefits.
Around the same period, senior safety leader David Robinson resigned from the company, citing a “broken” organisational culture and warning that AI developers were not “being nearly careful enough” as the technology advanced rapidly.
