OpenAI Employee Allegedly Used AI Chatbot to Plan Surveillance Operation

An engineer at OpenAI, Abdulrahman Alfozan, allegedly concealed an audio recording device in a piece of toilet paper and attached it behind a monitor inside an executive conference room at one of the company’s San Francisco offices, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Tuesday. Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi Arabian national and US permanent resident, reportedly spent several weeks using an unspecified "productivity agent" and an "AI chatbot" to plan the surveillance operation. He utilized an internal OpenAI tool to inquire about meetings scheduled in the targeted conference room. Additionally, he appears to have used a chatbot account associated with his spouse to ask various technical questions about setting up a covert audio recording device, according to prosecutors and the court filing. OpenAI’s security team also allegedly found an additional recording device that had not been installed in Alfozan’s bag at the office. Alfozan could not be immediately reached for comment. He made an initial appearance in US district court in San Francisco on Tuesday on one charge of “use of an electronic, mechanical, or other device to intercept oral communications.” If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison. Alfozan joined OpenAI in July 2025 and was fired last Friday to coincide with his arrest. Federal Bureau of Investigation director Kash Patel stated that Alfozan aimed “to secretly capture sensitive communications about the company’s super intelligence technology,” but neither prosecutors nor OpenAI have provided information about a potential motive. OpenAI stated, “At this time, we have no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data.” The company emphasized the importance of protecting its technology, data, and personnel. OpenAI discovered the bug, which was allegedly “concealed in toilet paper” and “inserted into a USB port on the back of a television” in the conference room, on September 30 during a countersurveillance sweep. Alfozan previously worked at a cargo logistics startup and at Meta, according to a purported LinkedIn profile. The profile lists him as a part-time “venture partner” at RAED Ventures, a venture capital firm based in Saudi Arabia. Neither RAED Ventures nor Meta immediately responded to requests for comment. The complaint indicates that Alfozan allegedly planted the listening device “no later than on or about September 28, 2026.” The targeted conference room “can be reserved only by executives and executive assistants” and is typically used for internal leadership meetings, technical and product sessions, and external briefings with business partners and government officials, according to the complaint. It is frequently used for discussions involving “highly confidential” information, including research, products, business strategy, and government relationships. OpenAI’s statement referred to the recording device as “sophisticated.” Authorities allege that the device Alfozan planted was called Seeed XIAO ESP32-S3 Sense, described as a thumb-sized development board with a detachable camera sensor, digital microphone, and microSD storage, which retails for $13.99. OpenAI’s security team attempted to export the data stored on the microSD card but were unable to review it due to encryption. After discovering the device, OpenAI notified the FBI and connected it to Alfozan after reviewing chat logs, surveillance footage, and searching a bag he left unattended at the office. The security team discovered the bag in a printer room on October 5, containing a second encrypted Seeed listening device and personal items linked to Alfozan, including his wallet. Prosecutors noted that Alfozan later reported the bag as missing to OpenAI and subsequently recovered it from the company’s lost and found. He followed up with unnamed personnel at OpenAI to report that some items that were supposed to be in the bag were still missing, including a credit card, about $500 in cash, and two AirPods, but did not mention the second listening device, which had been removed by OpenAI security.