Secret recorder at OpenAI? Saudi man faces charges over planting ‘sophisticated’ device

The department identified the accused as Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, who was arrested on October 9. According to the complaint, Alfozan had been working as an engineer at OpenAI since July 2025.

On or around September 30, OpenAI personnel discovered a concealed audio recording device plugged into a USB port on the back of a television in an executive conference room at one of the company's buildings in San Francisco.

The device, which had allegedly been concealed in toilet paper, was installed on or around September 28, according to the department. Its contents were encrypted.

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage reportedly showed Alfozan near the executive conference room on multiple occasions before the device was discovered, despite him having no authorisation to access the room or participate in meetings held there.

According to the complaint, meetings in the conference room frequently involved highly confidential technical, commercial and strategic discussions, including proprietary research, product plans, business development opportunities, and non-public information about OpenAI's technological progress, strategic decisions, capabilities, priorities, government engagements and commercial relationships.

Investigators also alleged that, before September 28, Alfozan used a productivity tool to make multiple inquiries about OpenAI's building addresses, meeting rooms, room capacities and calendars, the locations of senior executives, and meetings with external partners.

The complaint further stated that a chatbot account associated with Alfozan's spouse, which allegedly shared multiple identifiers and attributes with his own account, submitted prompts between September 24 and September 30 about building, customising, installing, testing and concealing an audio-recording device, as well as enabling remote access.

The prompts reportedly included requests concerning the development of a continuous audio recorder, Wi-Fi connectivity, improved audio and live listening capabilities, and SD card encryption.

The same chatbot account also submitted prompts specifically related to the first recording device, including queries involving its custom header and unique media access control (MAC) address, between September 27 and September 28, according to the complaint.

In a separate incident, Alfozan allegedly left a bag unattended in another room at an OpenAI building on or around October 5. OpenAI security personnel reportedly found and opened the bag, discovering a second recording device similar to the first, along with other items, including his wallet and identification.

If convicted, Alfozan faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and up to three years of supervised release. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the case.

“This serious situation underscores why winning the global super intelligence race is a national security prerogative — and why President Trump’s leadership in creating the Super Intelligence Force is so important,” Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton said.

FBI Director Kash Patel said, “According to the complaint unsealed today, Abdulrahman Alfozan allegedly concealed a covert recording device inside his employer’s executive conference room to secretly capture sensitive communications about the company’s super intelligence technology.”