Federal prosecutors have charged Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old OpenAI engineer hired in July 2025, with planting a hidden recording device in an executive conference room at the company's San Francisco headquarters. OpenAI says it discovered the device on September 30 plugged into a TV's USB port and concealed with toilet paper, then used its own AI models to trace it to Alfozan before alerting the FBI and firing him. Prosecutors allege he researched OpenAI's facilities and may have used a chatbot to learn how to build, hide and encrypt data from a recording device.
engadget.com
· 2026-10-13
OpenAI has disclosed that it identified a corporate spy within its organization by applying its own artificial intelligence systems to the investigation. The company frames the episode as evidence that its AI tools can be turned toward internal security problems, not just external products.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-10-13
Federal prosecutors arrested OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national, after a hidden audio device was found plugged into a TV's USB port in an executive conference room at the company's San Francisco headquarters. Investigators say the device, concealed in toilet paper, was installed around September 28 and recorded encrypted data; a separate unattended bag containing Alfozan's wallet, ID and another recording device was also found. He faces charges of using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications and remains in custody.
sfstandard.com
· 2026-10-13
The DOJ has charged Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, an OpenAI employee since July 2025, with illegally intercepting oral communications after a covert recording device was found plugged into a USB port behind a TV in an executive conference room on September 30. Prosecutors say the device, hidden in toilet paper and containing encrypted data, was installed around September 28, and that security footage placed Alfozan near the room despite his lacking authorization to attend meetings there.
bleepingcomputer.com
· 2026-10-13
OpenAI says it found a concealed recording device inside one of its offices and used its own AI models to trace it to a specific employee who had planted it days earlier. The company reported the matter to the FBI, which made an arrest, and OpenAI has terminated the employee.
theverge.com
· 2026-10-13
Driscoll's has filed more than 20 lawsuits against Chinese companies it accuses of illegally propagating its proprietary blueberry varieties and copying its greenhouse designs. The theft reportedly involves simply taking plant cuttings and replanting them, a method also caught by rival Spanish grower Planasa using private investigators. Analysts estimate thousands of hectares of illegally grown blueberries now exist across China.
entrepreneur.com
· 2026-09-21
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