Espionage affair at OpenAI: Employee planted a listening device – and was exposed using AI

The FBI arrested a Saudi-born OpenAI employee on suspicion of planting a listening device in the company's San Francisco offices. The company identified the device and the employee using its artificial intelligence models. The employee, Abdul Rahman Al-Fozan (35), joined in July 2025 as an engineer, was arrested and fired after planting a recording device in a meeting room of senior executives. He formulated the plan with the help of an AI chatbot and internal company tools. A federal indictment has been filed against him.

The FBI arrested a Saudi-born OpenAI employee, Abdul Rahman Al-Fozan (35), on suspicion of planting a listening device in the company's San Francisco offices. The company announced that it used its artificial intelligence models to identify the device and the employee who planted it. Al-Fozan, who joined OpenAI in July 2025 as an engineer, was arrested and fired on Friday, October 9, 2026. According to the FBI, he planted the device on September 28, wrapped in toilet paper, and connected it to a USB port on the back of a TV monitor in a meeting room. He formulated his plan over weeks with the help of an AI chatbot and internal company tools, researching details about the office address, the structure of meeting rooms, and the locations of executives. The company discovered the device on September 30. Security cameras documented him near the room. On October 5, he entered the room and examined the device, leaving a bag with an additional listening device that was not installed. On Tuesday, October 13, a federal indictment was filed against him in San Francisco on charges of intercepting oral communications. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. U.S. National Intelligence Director Jay Clayton and FBI Director Kash Patel linked the case to the global competition in the field of superintelligence (SI) and the need to protect American innovation.