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Saudi Engineer Arrested for Planting Recording Device at OpenAI
Confirmed
In Short: A Saudi national who worked at OpenAI was arrested for allegedly planting a recording device in an executive conference room.
A Saudi national who was a former employee of artificial intelligence company OpenAI was arrested on October 9 after allegedly planting a covert recording device in an executive conference room at the company's San Francisco office.
According to court filings, the device was discovered on September 30, plugged into the back of a TV and covered with toilet paper.
Prosecutors argue that Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, had considerable support from the Saudi government and posed a danger to U.S. national security.
The court filing claims that Alfozan was in frequent contact with a member of the Saudi royal family and that a Saudi military official paid for a one-way ticket for his wife and son to return to Saudi Arabia.
Alfozan's wife reportedly told FBI agents that her U.S. visa was expiring and that she and her son were permanently moving back to Saudi Arabia.
Prosecutors said that Alfozan's conduct could endanger U.S. national security because executives from the tech firm met with government officials in the room during the days the device was believed to have been installed.
The court filing also noted that Alfozan had booked 70 percent of his airline tickets as one-way tickets since January 2021, suggesting he had plans to leave the U.S.
In a motion to keep Alfozan in custody pending trial, prosecutors argued that he had little incentive to remain in the U.S. and posed a flight risk.
They proposed that Alfozan be kept under GPS monitoring, surrender his passports, and agree not to travel outside Northern California.
OpenAI said it has alerted the FBI after discovering that an employee allegedly planted a hidden recording device in one of the company’s executive conference rooms.
The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the BBC.
What this adds
The Saudi government has not yet responded to requests for comment from the BBC.
Background
OpenAI has arrested an employee for secretly placing a recording device in an executive conference room.
What's confirmed
- The Saudi government did not immediately respond to BBC requests for comment.
- The court filing claimed the suspect's alleged conduct could pose "a danger to the national security of the United States", because executives from the tech firm met with government officials in the room during the days the device was believed to have been installed.
- Alfozan had been in contact as recently as October 5 with an unnamed member of the Saudi Royal Family, whom he frequently communicated with on WhatsApp over the last two years, prosecutors said.
- Pernik said that in order to secure his release, Alfozan would agree to GPS monitoring and home detention, surrender his passports, and agree not to travel outside Northern California, accept a bond "co-signed by members of his Bay Area community and backed by the written undertaking of the Consulate General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."
- "In the days surrounding the time period that the device was installed, OpenAI executives met with government officials in that very room," prosecutors wrote in a filing on Sunday.
- A Saudi national working as an OpenAI engineer was arrested after allegedly planting a covert recording device inside an executive conference room at the company's San Francisco office, federal authorities announced Tuesday.
What's still developing
- Toilet paper and secret recorders: What we know about the arrest of the Saudi OpenAI engineer Call for partial curfews across France after protests as Vinted says it's removing looted items Are the French riots a warning of an intense election to come?
- "Mr. Alfozan was made aware of OpenAI finding the device per its own filings and OpenAI's public statements, approximately eight to ten days before he was arrested," Pernik wrote.
- Hunt discusses the alleged security breach, how the device was discovered and OpenAI’s response to the incident.
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- Go Ad Lite Home world middle east Court filing suggests ex-OpenAI employee accused of planting device to have Saudi backing Prosecutors made those allegations as they asked a federal judge to keep Alfozan in US custody to await trial, arguing he is a flight risk.