{"slug": "moment-openai-engineer-caught-looking-at-spy-device-he-left-in-top-secret-room", "title": "Moment OpenAI engineer ‘caught looking at spy device he left in top secret room’", "summary": "The U.S. Department of Justice charged Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national and OpenAI engineering lead, with using a device to intercept oral communications after OpenAI discovered a hidden audio recorder planted behind a TV in an executive conference room on September 30, two days after it was placed on September 28. OpenAI fired Alfozan on October 9, the day he was arrested, and said it found no indications he inappropriately accessed or exfiltrated model weights, source code, or customer data; he faces five years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines if convicted. FBI agents searching an unattended bag at OpenAI offices found a second recording device, and OpenAI said it has evidence Alfozan intended to deploy more recorders in top-secret rooms.", "body_md": "OpenAI, the tech giant behind [ChatGPT](https://metro.co.uk/tag/chatgpt/), said it found a hidden recording device tucked into one of its executive conference rooms. \n\nThe San Francisco-based [AI](https://metro.co.uk/tag/artificial-intelligence/) company said yesterday that staff had to use one of its models to ‘understand the device and where it had come from’.\n\nThe bug was slipped behind the TV of a room where high-level chats about confidential plans, government relationships and research happened.\n\nA ‘specific employee had planted it a few days earlier’ in late September, OpenAI [said](https://x.com/OpenAINewsroom/status/2110095403198849132) on X, adding that the staffer has since been arrested.\n\nThe [US](https://metro.co.uk/tag/usa/) Department of Justice [named](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/saudi-national-arrested-installing-surreptitious-audio-recording-device-openai) the worker as Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, from [Saudi Arabia](https://metro.co.uk/tag/saudi-arabia/).\n\nHe has been charged with using or endeavouring to use an electronic, mechanical, or other device to intercept oral communications.\n\nAlfozan appeared in court today and remains in custody.\n\nBetween 17 August and 16 September, Alfozan is accused of asking a productivity AI assistant questions about meeting rooms.\n\nThey included ‘can you list today’s meeting in this room’, according to the court document.\n\nPrompts – instructions to an AI – to a chatbot used by Alfozan’s spouse included how to build a ‘continuous audio recorder’.\n\nAlfozan was seen on CCTV near the executive conference room ‘on multiple dates’ just before the gadget was planted, the complaint said.\n\nThe wiretapping device was stuffed into a USB stick, wrapped in toilet paper and planted behind a TV in the room on September 28, officials said.\n\nOpenAI discovered the spy device two days later.\n\nA photo in the court document shows an object on the back of a TV.\n\nAnother image shows the gadget with the branding of Seeed Studio, which makes AI-powered hardware.\n\nAlfozan had no authority to access the meetings in the room but footage allegedly shows him peeking behind the TV and looking at where the recording device had been stashed on October 5.\n\nOpenAI told **Metro** that the recording device was designed to evade detection and used ‘advanced encryption’, so it would be tough to crack, and could monitor audio and had a way to transfer data without being noticed.\n\nThe company also has evidence that the employee intended to deploy other recording devices in top-secret rooms.\n\nAfter searching a bag left unattended by Alfozan in OpenAI offices, FBI agents discovered a second recording device, according to the indictment.\n\nIf convicted, Alfozan faces five years in prison and up to $250,000 (nearly £190,000) in fines.\n\nAlfozan began working at OpenAI in July 2025. Since September last year, he has been an engineering lead, according to a LinkedIn profile bearing his name.\n\nOpenAI fired him on October 9, the day he was arrested. It timed the firing of its employee with the FBI to avoid disrupting the investigation.\n\nThe company gradually limited the worker’s access to company systems and offices, then suspended his access, put him on leave and confiscated his work equipment.\n\nAlfozan’s lawyer, William Pernik, told **Metro** that his client is ‘presumed innocent’.\n\n‘These allegations appear wholly out of character for him, and we will relentlessly investigate all evidence produced by the government in this case to understand what actually happened, who was responsible and any possible reasons why,’ he added.\n\nOpenAI said: ‘At this time, we have no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data. The employee was terminated.\n\n‘We take protecting our technology, data, and people seriously, and as a matter of national importance.\n\n‘Our security program is designed to protect against a wide range of threat actors, from insider risks to cybercriminals to nation states, and this case is an example of how AI can help address these sophisticated security threats.’\n\n**Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [webnews@metro.co.uk](mailto:webnews@metro.co.uk).**\n\n**For more stories like this,** [**check our news page**](https://metro.co.uk/news/).\n\nMORE: [Microsoft reveals Xbox Labs and it’s desperately pretending it’s not about AI](https://metro.co.uk/2026/10/14/microsoft-reveals-xbox-labs-desperately-pretending-not-ai-29707513/?ico=more_text_links)\n\nMORE: [Trump shares disturbing video of Yorkshire tiger mauling with ‘warning’ to America](https://metro.co.uk/2026/10/14/trump-shares-disturbing-video-yorkshire-tiger-mauling-warning-america-29706869/?ico=more_text_links)\n\nMORE: [Games Inbox: What video game console is best to get for Christmas?](https://metro.co.uk/2026/10/14/games-inbox-video-game-console-best-get-christmas-29706740/?ico=more_text_links)", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/moment-openai-engineer-caught-looking-at-spy-device-he-left-in-top-secret-room", "canonical_source": "https://metro.co.uk/2026/10/14/moment-openai-engineer-caught-looking-spy-device-left-top-secret-room-29709668/", "published_at": "2026-10-14 20:02:39+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-10-14 23:48:14.545981+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-safety"], "entities": ["OpenAI", "Abdulrahman Alfozan", "U.S. Department of Justice", "Federal Bureau of Investigation", "Seeed Studio", "William Pernik", "ChatGPT", "Saudi Arabia"], "also_reported_by": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/moment-openai-engineer-caught-looking-at-spy-device-he-left-in-top-secret-room", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/moment-openai-engineer-caught-looking-at-spy-device-he-left-in-top-secret-room.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/moment-openai-engineer-caught-looking-at-spy-device-he-left-in-top-secret-room.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/moment-openai-engineer-caught-looking-at-spy-device-he-left-in-top-secret-room.jsonld"}}