OpenAI says it found a 'sophisticated recording device' hidden in its offices

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US federal prosecutors have arrested and charged a Saudi national with allegedly hiding a sophisticated recording device inside of OpenAI's San Francisco headquarters. Per the San Francisco Standard, Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old engineer who had been with the company since July 2025, has been accused of attempting to record oral conversations between OpenAI employees. Alfozan allegedly left a DIY recording device inside of an executive conference room he wasn't authorized to enter or use. 

We discovered a sophisticated recording device that was hidden inside one of our offices. We used our models to understand the device and where it had come from, identifying that a specific employee had planted it a few days earlier. We referred the matter to the FBI, and we're...

— OpenAI Newsroom (@OpenAINewsroom) October 13, 2026

According to the complaint the San Francisco Standard saw, prosecutors said meetings inside the room often involved confidential information, including details related to the company's product roadmap, research and government engagement. OpenAI found the device on September 30 plugged into a USB port on the back of a TV. Alfozan appears to have used toilet paper to conceal the device. According to prosecutors, he used a "productivity tool" to collect information about OpenAI's facilities. He may have also used a chatbot to ask how to build, install and hide a remote recording device. On a chatbot account tied to his spouse, investigators allegedly found prompts asking the AI model how to "build a continuous audio recorder" and "encrypt the SD card."

In a statement published to X, OpenAI says it used its own AI models to "understand the device," which it also called sophisticated. "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," OpenAI wrote in the post. OpenAI did not immediately respond to Engadget's request for comment and more information. 

OpenAI determined the device was installed sometime in and around September 28. On October 5, Alfozan allegedly left behind a bag somewhere else in OpenAI's office. The company's security personnel found Alfozan's wallet, ID and a second recording device inside the bag. Alfozan made his first court appearance on Tuesday. If convicted, he faces up to five years in a federal prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.