Saudi man accused of planting bug in OpenAI office
A Saudi man working for OpenAI has been charged with secretly planting a listening device at the tech giant’s offices in California.
US federal prosecutors accuse Abdulrahman Alfozan, who worked as an engineer with the company, of using or endeavouring to use an electronic, mechanical, or other device to intercept oral communications.
A Saudi man working for Open Ai is accused of planting a secret surveillance device at the company’s officesin San Francisco. US Justice Department
FBI Director Kash Patel says Alfozan allegedly planted a covert recording device, wrapped in toilet paper, behind a television in OpenAI’s executive conference room.
Patel said the objective was to secretly capture “sensitive communications” about the company’s AI technology.
OpenAI employees discovered the device on September 30 - two days after prosecutors say it had been installed. The device was encrypted, they said.
The FBI allege Alfozan turned to a “productivity tool” and a “chatbot” to research how to secretly plant surveillance gear and places in OpenAI offices offered the best targets for covert recording.
He is accused of entering the terms “building, customising, installing, audio recording, testing, obfuscating, and remote accessing a device”, into Chatbox.
CCTV footage inside OpenAI’s office showed that Alfozan appeared near the executive conference room on multiple dates leading up to the device’s discovery,
He had no authority to access or to participate in meetings discussing sensitive and confidential business held there.
He allegedly returned to inspect the device in the office room on October 5, prosecutors allege.
The same day, Alfozan left a bag unattended in another part of the building.
The device was allegedly concealed in toilet paper and fixed behind a TV in an OpenAI conference room. US Justice Department
OpenAI security officers opened it to discover his wallet and identity documents, along with another recording device that was similar to the one found in the office conference room, prosecutors said.
Alfozan fronted court on Tuesday. It’s not clear whether he has legal representation.
If found guilty, he faces a five-year prison sentence and a fine of $US250,000 ($357,000).
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