FBI arrests OpenAI employee over hidden listening device in executive conference room

The FBI has arrested an OpenAI employee in connection with a sophisticated listening device found hidden in an executive conference room at the company’s San Francisco office, OpenAI and the Justice Department said Tuesday. Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, of Saudi Arabia, was arrested Friday and made his initial appearance in federal court Tuesday, the Justice Department said. OpenAI fired him the same day. Device hidden in toilet paper According to the Justice Department, OpenAI personnel found the audio recording device plugged into a USB port on a television in the conference room on or about Sept. 30. It had been concealed in toilet paper and installed on or about Sept. 28. The department said meetings in the room often involved highly confidential and nonpublic information.