OpenAI employee arrested over hidden listening device, company says - NBC News

Share Add NBC News to Google Oct. 13, 2026, 4:40 PM EDT / Updated Oct. 13, 2026, 5:22 PM EDT / Source : Reuters By Reuters and Joe Kottke OpenAI said Tuesday that the FBI has arrested one of its employees in connection with a sophisticated listening device found hidden in one of the company’s offices. The ChatGPT maker used its internal AI models to identify the person responsible for planting the device and to trace its origins, it said on X . “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,” it said. OpenAI personnel discovered the audio recording device inserted into a USB port of a television in an executive conference room in an OpenAI building in San Francisco, the Justice Department said in a news release . An employee of OpenAI has been arrested for and charged with using a device to intercept communications. Dept. of Justice The device had been concealed in toilet paper and installed “on or about Sept. 28.” It was discovered “on or about Sept. 30,” the Justice Department said. Meetings in the conference room frequently involved discussions of “highly confidential” and “nonpublic” information, it added. For Subscribers FOR SUBSCRIBERS Michigan GOP Senate nominee Mike Rogers on whether Iran war was a mistake: ‘We’ll find out’ FOR SUBSCRIBERS ‘We didn’t think this could happen.’ Pennsylvania doctors seeing what measles can do to kids FOR SUBSCRIBERS Union leader quoted in Maine Senate attack ad sends ‘cease and desist’ to GOP PAC FOR SUBSCRIBERS Republicans shift funds in the battle for the House, pulling money from some tough races FOR SUBSCRIBERS How exactly do microplastics damage the body? New research offers an answer FOR SUBSCRIBERS Who hacked French fridges? 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Slide 1 of 1 OpenAI said that its security program is designed to protect against a wide range of threat actors, from insider risks to cybercriminals to nation-states, and that this case is an example of how AI can help address those sophisticated security threats. It said it referred the matter to the FBI, which continues to investigate. Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, of Saudi Arabia, was arrested Friday and made his initial appearance in federal court Tuesday, the Justice Department said. His employment was also terminated Friday after OpenAI took “gradual steps to contain the risk while the investigation continued,” including restricting the employee’s access and placing him on leave, according to OpenAI. OpenAI hired Alfozan as an engineer in July 2025, according to the criminal complaint. Alfozan appeared to look behind a television in an executive conference room in an OpenAI building in San Francisco. via DOJ FBI Director Kash Patel said Alfozan “allegedly concealed a covert recording device inside his employer’s executive conference room to secretly capture sensitive communications about the company’s super intelligence technology.” OpenAI said it has evidence that the employee “intended to deploy other recording devices.” The complaint alleges that Alfozan left a bag unattended in a different room in an OpenAI building on Oct. 5, which “OpenAI security personnel found and opened,” discovering a similar recording device. OpenAI faces scrutiny over security incidents involving its AI systems. Reuters and other media outlets reported recently that it told investors its annualized revenue for September was almost $50 billion, a drop from what it signaled earlier. OpenAI said Friday it fired three researchers after an investigation found they had violated company policies about handling sensitive information. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says people need to 'accept some bad things' for the benefits of AI 03:31 The researchers, Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak and Mikita Balesni, published a letter detailing the circumstances of their dismissal and arguing that the abrupt firings could create uncertainty among employees and undermine a culture that had allowed researchers to raise safety concerns. Alfozan is scheduled to appear in federal court again on Oct. 19. Share Add NBC News to Google Reuters Reuters Joe Kottke Joe Kottke is an assignment editor at NBC News covering breaking news across the Americas, including politics, immigration, crime and severe weather. Ryan J. Reilly contributed .