FBI arrests OpenAI employee accused of planting hidden recording device in conference room
1:59 PM PDT · October 13, 2026
OpenAI said it has alerted the FBI after discovering that an employee allegedly planted a hidden recording device in one of the AI maker’s office executive conference rooms.
The employee, named by federal prosecutors as Saudi national Abdulrahman Alfozan, was fired and arrested on October 9, about a week after OpenAI discovered the surveillance device.
The company said in a post on X that it used its internal AI models to understand the “sophisticated” device. OpenAI told TechCrunch that the device contained “advanced encryption, audio monitoring capabilities, and a mechanism for transferring data designed to evade monitoring,” though it is unclear to what degree this device is technically distinct from other recording devices.
“At this time, we have no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data,” said OpenAI in its post on X.
OpenAI’s spokesperson Nate Evans confirmed that the employee started with the AI model maker in July 2025 and worked on the product team.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California said Alfozan was charged with using an electronic device to intercept oral communications — effectively accusing him of covertly recording people’s voice audio without their permission. Alfozan said OpenAI caught the device after it was inserted into a USB port on the back of a television in OpenAI’s San Francisco office.
Per the prosecutors, Alfozan was caught looking behind the television where the recording device was placed, and where OpenAI had placed a camera that allegedly caught the employee.
It’s not clear exactly for what purpose the recording device was used, but FBI Director Kash Patel said the scheme was to “capture sensitive communications about the company’s super intelligence technology.”
Neither Alfozan nor his attorney could be immediately reached for comment. He faces five years in prison if convicted.
When reached, a spokesperson for the FBI reiterated a statement made by bureau director Kash Patel.
“Protecting American SI innovation is essential to safeguarding our nation’s economic strength and national security, and the FBI views that mission as one of our highest counterintelligence priorities,” Patel said.
A photo showing the hidden recording device.Image Credits: OpenAI
Topics
AI, cybersecurity, OpenAI, Security, surveillance
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
Judge orders OpenAI to turn over hiring records in Apple trade secrets case
1:36 PM PDT · October 13, 2026
A judge has ruled that Apple will gain expedited access to OpenAI’s hiring materials in the trade secrets-focused lawsuit the iPhone maker filed against OpenAI in July.
Specifically, the court will allow Apple to view documents associated with OpenAI’s interviews with former Apple employees who applied for roles within its consumer hardware and robotics groups ahead of the rumored launch of OpenAI’s first hardware device.
These documents could include interview checklists, guides, instructions, manuals, and scripts, as well as technical presentations andrecords showing that interview discussions had included references to Apple technology or components.
The court gave OpenAI five days to turn over materials it has already collected and 14 days for any other materials related to this request, agreeing with Apple that these documents should be expedited.
The case comes as OpenAI develops a consumer hardware device that could one day potentially rival the iPhone — or smartphones more generally — if the AI device becomes a central part of consumers’ lives and how they engage with software and services.
In its lawsuit, Apple accused OpenAI of a pattern of theft, which includes direct complaints about former employees using Apple laptops to download confidential material and files that contained information about unannounced technologies, features, and products, including technical specifications, engineering presentations, and proprietary project data.
Apple also said that former Apple employees at OpenAI coached others considering leaving Apple for OpenAI on what information to bring to their interviews, among other allegations.
U.S. District Judge Edward Davila didn’t greenlight all of Apple’s requests for expedited access to OpenAI documents and messages relevant to the case. But he did rule that Apple could access the interview materials, alongside private LINE messages (from a messaging app) between individuals named in the case, including OpenAI employees Chang Liu and Alyssa Peng.
The judge also approved depositions for Liu and Peng, along with a third individual, OpenAI’s chief hardware officer, Tang Yew Tan. All three are former Apple employees.
However, the judge denied Apple’s request to expedite its access to OpenAI’s research and development in specific areas, like metal finishes and power management. He also denied several of Apple’s broader discovery requests, like access to OpenAI’s hardware research or information about what its former employees created while working at OpenAI.
That denial isn’t final, though; the judge left the door open for Apple to narrow its requests and try again.
Topics
AI, Apple, Hardware, lawsuit, OpenAI
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
