An OpenAI engineer was arrested after the company said it discovered a “sophisticated recording device” hidden in one of its offices. The employee was identified as Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national. Alfozan is charged with using or endeavoring to use a device to intercept oral communications, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.
OpenAI’s post about the incident says it used its AI models to “understand the device and where it had come from, identifying that a specific employee had planted it a few days earlier.”
As noted by the DOJ, OpenAI found the device plugged into a TV’s USB port in an executive conference room, where discussions about “highly confidential technical, commercial, and strategic information” often take place.
Alfozan didn’t have access to this room, but CCTV footage allegedly showed him “near the executive conference room on multiple dates prior to the device’s discovery,” according to the DOJ. Footage also captured Alfozan appearing to look behind the TV where the device was installed, federal prosecutors claim.
The device was covered in toilet paper and installed on or around September 28th. Its contents were encrypted. Additionally, the DOJ claims OpenAI security discovered a bag Alfozan left in another room inside the company’s office, where they found his wallet, ID, and another recording device.
OpenAI says it fired the employee and referred the incident to the FBI.
