OpenAI engineer arrested over alleged bugging of executive conference room
An OpenAI engineer was arrested on suspicion of secretly installing a recording device in a conference room used by company executives at its San Francisco headquarters, according to federal prosecutors.
Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national who joined the ChatGPT maker last year, was arrested Friday and charged with using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications.
He appeared in federal court Tuesday and remained in custody, prosecutors said.
The case involves an encrypted listening device allegedly hidden behind a television in a room where executives discussed confidential research, business plans and government partnerships. OpenAI said Tuesday that its own artificial intelligence models helped investigators examine the device and identify the employee suspected of planting it.
The company said it fired Alfozan and referred the case to the FBI, which is continuing its investigation.
A photo of the recording device allegedly planted by an OpenAI employee in one of the company's executive conference rooms. (U.S. Department of Justice )
The device was discovered Sept. 30 during a security sweep of an executive conference room, according to the federal criminal complaint. It had been plugged into a USB port on the back of a television and concealed in toilet paper.
Investigators believe it was installed around Sept. 28. The device's contents were encrypted, according to the complaint.
Security footage allegedly placed Alfozan near the conference room on several occasions before the discovery, although he was not authorized to enter the room or participate in meetings held there.
Alfozan allegedly used a workplace productivity tool to research OpenAI office locations, conference rooms, meeting calendars and the locations of gatherings involving company leadership and outside partners.
A chatbot account associated with his spouse, which prosecutors said shared identifying information with his account, was used between Sept. 24 and Sept. 30 to ask questions about constructing, concealing and remotely accessing audio recording equipment.
Among the searches were questions about how to "build a continuous audio recorder" and "encrypt the SD card," according to the complaint.
On Sept. 27 and 28, the account allegedly sought information about the particular recording device later discovered in the conference room, including its unique network identifier.
Investigators described another encounter on Oct. 5, when surveillance footage allegedly showed Alfozan entering the conference room and looking behind the television.
That same day, security personnel discovered an unattended bag in another room. Inside were Alfozan's wallet, identification and a second recording device resembling the one found behind the television, according to prosecutors.
OpenAI said the first device had sophisticated encryption, audio monitoring capabilities and a mechanism for transferring information designed to evade detection.
The company also said it had evidence that Alfozan intended to install additional recording devices in sensitive locations.
The company said its investigation found no activity compromising the safety of its products or customers' information.
In a statement posted to X on Tuesday, OpenAI said it coordinated Alfozan's termination with federal investigators to avoid interfering with the case.
After discovering the device, the company gradually restricted his access to its offices and computer systems before suspending his access entirely and placing him on leave. He was fired Friday, the day of his arrest.
Alfozan had worked on OpenAI's product team since July 2025, according to prosecutors.
A LinkedIn profile under his name identifies him as an engineering lead working on OpenAI's AI agents platform. The profile lists previous engineering positions at Meta and Nash, an AI infrastructure company, as well as a master's degree in data science from UC Berkeley.
A February 2025 announcement from Raed Ventures, a venture capital firm, also identified an Abdulrahman Alfozan as a former Meta senior engineer who studied computer science and engineering at MIT. The firm announced at the time that he was joining as a venture partner.
"For us it is a matter of national security," U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian said in a statement Tuesday.
The arrest comes days after OpenAI disclosed that it had fired three researchers following an internal investigation into alleged violations of policies governing sensitive information.
Alfozan faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of the charge against him.
A detention hearing was scheduled for Oct. 19 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alex G. Tse.
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This article originally published at OpenAI engineer arrested over alleged bugging of executive conference room.