FBI arrests OpenAI engineer accused of hiding recording device in restricted meeting room

What happened

The FBI arrested OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan for allegedly hiding a recording device wrapped in toilet paper behind a television in a restricted executive conference room. According to the FBI, the device was likely planted on September 28, and OpenAI discovered it on September 30 with encrypted contents. A camera installed on October 5 allegedly captured Alfozan attempting to retrieve it that day.

Reported by 4 sources

The story so far

OpenAI fired engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan, whom the FBI arrested on a charge of using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications after a recording device was found in an executive conference room. OpenAI said it used its models to understand the device and identify the employee, then referred the matter to the FBI. The company said its investigation remains ongoing and it currently has no indications of inappropriate access to or exfiltration of model weights, source code or customer data. According to the FBI account reported by Ars Technica, the device was wrapped in toilet paper behind a television in a restricted conference room, and its contents were encrypted when OpenAI discovered it. The FBI alleged that a subsequently installed camera captured Alfozan attempting to retrieve it. The Decoder reported that the indictment alleges his wife’s chatbot account received prompts about continuous recording, Wi-Fi, live listening and SD card encryption, with identifiers matching the recovered device. The FBI alleged that chatbot logs and surveillance footage suggested Alfozan intended to spy on OpenAI and risked leaking trade secrets in a way that threatened national security. That allegation does not establish that any trade secrets were leaked.

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