Did an OpenAI engineer spy on bosses? FBI arrests Saudi national over hidden device

An OpenAI engineer was arrested last week after the company found a hidden recording device in one of its top meeting rooms. On September 30, 2026, staff at OpenAI’s San Francisco office discovered a small, encrypted audio recorder. It was plugged into a USB port on the back of a television in an executive conference room and concealed in toilet paper. The device had been placed around September 28. That room is often used for highly confidential talks about company plans, research and strategy. The employee, 35-year-old Saudi national Abdulrahman Alfozan, worked as an engineer on the product team since July 2025. Security cameras showed him near the restricted room several times even though he had no reason to be there.