MUMBAI: A former OpenAI engineer has been arrested and charged in the US for allegedly planting a concealed audio recording device in an executive conference room at the artificial intelligence company, raising fresh concerns about the security of sensitive AI research.
The US Department of Justice said on Tuesday that Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national who joined OpenAI as an engineer in July 2025, was accused of installing the device at one of the company’s San Francisco offices.
According to an FBI complaint, OpenAI discovered the thumb-sized device, which had a microphone and could connect to a camera, plugged into a USB port at the back of a television in an executive conference room on 30 September. Investigators believe it was installed around 28 September and concealed in toilet paper. Its stored data was encrypted and inaccessible.
Authorities also found a similar customised device in Alfozan’s personal bag, according to the complaint.
OpenAI said it used its internal AI models to identify the person allegedly responsible for planting the device and trace its origins. The company also said it had evidence suggesting the employee intended to place additional recording devices in sensitive areas of its offices to secretly capture meetings.
“At this time, we have no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data,” OpenAI said in a statement posted on X. The company confirmed that the employee had been terminated and that it had referred the matter to the FBI.
FBI director Kash Patel said Alfozan allegedly concealed the device to record sensitive communications concerning the company’s superintelligence technology. The investigation is ongoing.
Alfozan had also used an AI productivity agent to seek information about meeting-room calendars and capabilities for about a month, until 16 September, according to the FBI complaint. He has been a US legal permanent resident since September 2020.
A LinkedIn profile indicated that Alfozan studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, Berkeley, and had previously worked at Meta Platforms and Microsoft.
If convicted, Alfozan faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
The case comes as technology companies and governments compete for advanced AI capabilities, talent and intellectual property that could deliver significant economic and strategic advantages.
For AI developers, protecting confidential research and internal communications is becoming an increasingly important part of that competition. OpenAI’s allegation that the employee may have intended to install additional recording devices also highlights the security risks that can arise from within an organisation.
However, the company said it had found no indication that its model weights, source code or customer data had been improperly accessed or removed. The charges concern the alleged covert recording device, and the allegations have not been proven in court.
