OpenAI Engineer Arrested for Installing Hidden Audio Recorder in Conference Room

Federal prosecutors in the Northern District of California have charged Abdulrahman Alfozan, an OpenAI engineer, with illegally using an electronic device to intercept oral communications. Court documents unsealed Tuesday detail that Alfozan allegedly used prompts given to an artificial-intelligence chatbot to design a thumb-size audio recorder, which was later found folded in toilet paper and plugged into the back of a television in an executive conference room at the company’s San Francisco office.

OpenAI’s security team discovered the device on September 30 and employed its own AI tools to trace the hardware to Alfozan. The company announced on its X account that it had identified the employee, terminated his employment and referred the matter to the FBI. OpenAI added that there was no evidence the individual accessed model weights, source code or customer data.

Alfozan, a Saudi national with a master’s degree in data science from UC Berkeley, previously worked at Meta, co-founded a logistics startup, and held a venture-partner role at a Riyadh-based venture firm. He obtained U.S. permanent residency in 2020 and joined OpenAI in July 2023.

According to the complaint, the recovered device contained a microcontroller, detachable camera sensor and digital microphone, a component listed for $24 online. While no video captured the actual installation, CCTV footage showed Alfozan near the conference room around the time the device was placed. Prosecutors note that access to the room was restricted to executives and their assistants.

Alfozan’s attorney declined to comment, stating the defense is preparing for an upcoming hearing. The case has drawn attention from U.S. officials, with the director of national intelligence emphasizing the national-security implications of insider threats involving advanced technologies.