OpenAI has terminated and referred to federal authorities an engineering lead, Abdulrahman Alfozan, after the company says it discovered a hidden recording device in an executive conference room at its San Francisco offices. Alfozan, 35, was arrested on October 9 and charged with using an electronic device to intercept oral communications. The complaint says the device was found on September 30, concealed in toilet paper and inserted into a USB port on the back of a television in a room reserved for discussions of highly confidential technical, commercial, and strategic information.
Sources agree on the core sequence of events, but they differ on some details. WIRED identifies the device as a Seeed XIAO ESP32-S3 Sense, a thumb-sized development board that retails for about $14, while OpenAI and other outlets describe it as sophisticated, with advanced encryption, audio monitoring, and a data-transfer mechanism designed to evade detection. Prosecutors also allege Alfozan used a chatbot account tied to his spouse to research building and hiding the device, and that CCTV footage showed him near the room despite lacking access.
OpenAI said it used its own AI models to understand the device and trace it to the employee, and that it has no indications Alfozan accessed or exfiltrated model weights, source code, or customer data. FBI Director Kash Patel framed the case as a counterintelligence priority, saying protecting American super-intelligence innovation is essential to national security. The motive remains unclear. The arrest comes as OpenAI faces scrutiny over safety protocols after it fired three safety researchers earlier this month, though the company has not linked that decision to this case.