OpenAI Engineer Detained for Installing Recording Device

Um OpenAI engineer was arrested this Tuesday, the 13th, for having installed an audio recording device in a conference room of the company in the offices of San Francisco, USA.

The official in question is Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35 years old, Saudi nationality and has worked at OpenAI since July 2025. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the device was connected to the USB input of a television station located in this conference room.

“Abdulrahman Alfozan will have hidden a secret recording device in his employer’s administration conference room to discreetly capture sensitive communications about the company’s Artificial Intelligence technology”It can be read in the press release of FBI director Kash Patel, shared by Reuters.

The available information notes that this small device was equipped with a microphone and could be connected to a camera. Allegedly, it was hidden with toilet paper and stored data with encryption and it is believed that the installation took place around September 28th. The discovery of the device happened two days later.

The FBI agents who handled the arrest found a similar device among Alfozan's belongings. The discovery of this second device led OpenAI and authorities to believe that Alfozan planned to install more of these devices in other rooms to intercept communications.

The case illustrates well the growing climate of mistrust among the Artificial Intelligence companies, having been the OpenAI itself to discover the device and identify the person responsible using its models of Artificial Intelligence.

OpenAI posted on their social network X page about the case, noting that it analyzed the device using its own models for “understand the device and know where it came from, identifying the specific employees who planted it a few days earlier”.

“ We forwarded the case to the FBI and we are grateful to the agents and prosecutors who acted quickly to make the arrest.”, can be read in the publication, which notes that the investigation is ongoing and that the company will continue to collaborate to ascertain what has happened.

“At present, we have no evidence that this individual has improperly accessed or extracted models, source codes or customer data. The official was fired”, confirmed OpenAI, not specifying what type of information was captured by the device. “ We take the protection of our technology, data and people very seriously and as a matter of national importance. Our security program was created to protect against a wide range of malicious agents, from internal risks to cybercriminals and even nations, and this case is an example of how Artificial Intelligence can help combat these sophisticated security threats.”.

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 grateful to the agents and prospects who moved quickly to make an arrest. The FBI’s investigation is ongoing and we will continue to support their work. At this time, we have no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data. The employee was finished. We take protecting our technology, date, and people seriously, and as a matter of national importance. Our security program is designed to protect against a wide range of three actors, from insider risks to cybercriminals to nation states, and this case is an example of how AI can help address these sophisticated security issues.

— OpenAI Newsroom (@OpenAINewsroom) October 13, 2026