By A Saudi national working at OpenAI allegedly planted a hidden recording device in a room where executives discussed closely guarded research and business plans, prompting a federal investigation that officials are treating as a national security matter.
Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, was arrested October 9 and appeared in federal court Tuesday on a charge of using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications, writes CNBC. He remains in federal custody, with a detention hearing scheduled for October 19.
We discovered a sophisticated recording device that was hidden inside one of our offices. We used our models to understand the device and where it had come from, identifying that a specific employee had planted it a few days earlier. We referred the matter to the FBI, and we’re…
— OpenAI Newsroom (@OpenAINewsroom) October 13, 2026
According to prosecutors, OpenAI personnel discovered the device around September 30 in an executive conference room at one of its San Francisco buildings. Concealed in toilet paper and plugged into a USB port behind a television, it had been installed roughly two days earlier and contained encrypted data.
Okay, we have a LOT more details on the alleged spying situation at OpenAI.
So federal prosecutors identified a 35-year-old Saudi national named Abdulrahman Alfozan. Apparently, he allegedly planted what OpenAI calls a “sophisticated” recording device, with encrypted contents,… pic.twitter.com/UUR2sg3nHB
— Chris (@ChrisGPT) October 13, 2026
The room hosted sensitive discussions about the company’s technology, product plans, commercial relationships and government engagements. Alfozan, who joined OpenAI as an engineer in July 2025, had no authority to access the room or participate in its meetings, prosecutors said.
Investigators say surveillance footage placed Alfozan near the room repeatedly before the discovery. On October 5, he allegedly entered and appeared to check behind the television. That same day, security personnel found another similar recording device in an unattended bag containing his wallet and identification.
The alleged preparations also left a digital trail. Prosecutors say Alfozan used a productivity tool to inquire about building addresses, conference-room calendars and locations of “leadership and exec” and outside-partner meetings.
A chatbot account associated with his spouse, which shared identifiers with his own account, submitted questions about constructing, concealing and remotely accessing recording devices. Some prompts referenced the recovered device’s specific technical identifiers, according to the complaint as described by prosecutors.
holy crap
OpenAI engineer making 1M/year used wife's chatgpt account to ask how to plant bugging device at OpenAI pic.twitter.com/B3DKmv085S
— Just_Lingonberry_352 (@JustLingonberry) October 13, 2026
OpenAI said it used its own AI models to analyze the “sophisticated recording device” and identify the employee responsible before referring the matter to the FBI. The company fired Alfozan and said it had “no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said Alfozan allegedly installed the device “to secretly capture sensitive communications about the company’s super intelligence technology.” He described protecting American advances in the field as one of the bureau’s highest counterintelligence priorities.
The announced charge concerns unlawful interception of communications; authorities have not publicly established that Alfozan acted for a foreign government. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. The FBI investigation remains ongoing.
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