OpenAI engineer charged with planting bug in HQ denies spying
A former OpenAI engineer, Abdulrahman Alfozan, pleaded not guilty on Friday to federal charges of intercepting oral communications at the company’s San Francisco headquarters. Prosecutors allege he hid a recording device behind a TV in an executive conference room in late September, with security footage showing him near the area multiple times. A second device was found in his unattended bag,…
Key points
- Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi ex-OpenAI engineer, pleaded not guilty to federal spying charges
- Prosecutors allege he hid a recording device in a conference room and had a second device in his bag
- OpenAI denies evidence of model weights, source code, or customer data theft by Alfozan
Alfozan, a Saudi national, worked at OpenAI from July 2025 until his termination and arrest on October 9. The FBI claims his goal was to capture sensitive technical, business, and strategic information. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and deportation. OpenAI stated the FBI’s investigation is ongoing and that no evidence suggests Alfozan accessed or exfiltrated model weights, source code, or customer data. The case highlights growing concerns about intellectual property theft in the AI industry, amid broader U.S. efforts to protect AI advancements from foreign exploitation.
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7 episodes →- OpenAI engineer charged with planting bug in HQ denies spyingthis story
Saudi engineer charged with planting listening device in Open AI HQ denies bugging offices of ChatGPT maker
the-sun.com · 6 November 2026
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