Law & Justice

Saudi Engineer Arrested for Installing Hidden Listening Device at OpenAI San Francisco Office

By Al Jazeera Staff

A 35‑year‑old Saudi national, Abdulrahman Alfozan, was arrested by U.S. federal agents and charged with installing a concealed audio‑recording device in a conference room at OpenAI’s California headquarters. Alfozan had been employed as an engineer at the AI company since July 2025, according to a U.S. Department of Justice statement. The FBI filed a criminal complaint alleging that the device, a thumb‑sized microphone hidden in toilet paper and plugged into a USB port behind a television, was installed on September 28. The device’s data was encrypted and inaccessible. OpenAI discovered the device on September 30 and subsequently installed a camera that captured Alfozan entering the room and checking behind the television. The company said it had evidence that the employee intended to place additional listening devices in sensitive areas and terminated him. Alfozan, a legal permanent resident of the U.S. since September 2020, has a LinkedIn profile indicating studies at MIT and UC Berkeley and previous employment at Meta, Microsoft, and as a venture partner at Raed Ventures in Riyadh. He made his first court appearance on Tuesday on a charge of using a device to intercept oral communications. He faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release if convicted. The FBI complaint also alleges that Alfozan used an AI productivity tool to inquire about OpenAI’s building addresses, meeting rooms, capacities and calendars, despite lacking authority to access those spaces. Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that the alleged attempt to steal sensitive communications was taken extremely seriously. OpenAI said it had no evidence of the employee accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code or customer data. The incident follows broader concerns about AI technology being used for surveillance and intelligence gathering, including reports that U.S. tech companies supplied tools to the Israeli military for targeting in Gaza and Lebanon. OpenAI has denied a relationship with the Israeli military and has signed a deal with the U.S. Department of Defense to supply its technology for classified military use. The company highlighted its security program and the role of AI in addressing sophisticated security threats.