❗️Saudi national charged with planting listening device in OpenAI executive room used for government briefings

US authorities have charged Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national who worked as an engineer at OpenAI, with allegedly planting a concealed audio recording device in an executive conference room at the artificial intelligence company’s San Francisco headquarters.

ABC News reported that the room was being used to hold official government briefings.

According to a statement from the US Department of Justice, OpenAI personnel discovered the device on 30 September, after it had allegedly been concealed in toilet paper and inserted into a USB port behind a television.

Alfozan was arrested on 9 October and appeared in federal court on Tuesday. Prosecutors allege that the room was used for confidential discussions about the company's research, product plans and business strategy.

The Justice Department said surveillance footage placed Alfozan near the conference room before the device was discovered, while a second recording device was allegedly found in his bag on 5 October. The complaint also cites searches related to meeting rooms and recording equipment, including activity associated with a chatbot account linked to his spouse.

OpenAI said it had found no indication that Alfozan accessed or extracted its model weights, source code or customer data, and confirmed that he had been fired. FBI Director Kash Patel described the allegations as a national security concern, while the charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if Alfozan is convicted.