Saudi national OpenAI employee arrested after 'sophisticated recording device' planted in office

OpenAI said a "sophisticated recording device" was hidden inside one of its offices and the issue was referred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to a post on X Tuesday.

Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, who is a national of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was arrested on Oct. 9 in connection with the matter, the Department of Justice said in a release.

The company said an employee planted the device a few days before it was found, and the FBI "moved quickly to make an arrest," the post said. The employee was terminated.

FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement that Alfozan "allegedly concealed a covert recording device inside his employer's executive conference room to secretly capture sensitive communications about the company's super intelligence technology."

"At this time, we have no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data," OpenAI said in the post. "We take protecting our technology, data and people seriously, and as a matter of national importance."