OpenAI staffer accused of planting a bug allegedly had 'frequent' contact with a Saudi royal, faces up to five years
The Verge reported on Oct 19 that OpenAI employee Abdulrahman Alfozan allegedly had "frequent" WhatsApp contact with a Saudi royal while accused of planting a recording device in executive meetings; charges carry up to a five-year sentence
On October 19, The Verge reported that OpenAI employee Abdulrahman Alfozan has been charged with planting a recording device inside OpenAI executive meetings. Court filings show that Alfozan maintained "frequent" WhatsApp communication with a Saudi royal.
The case stems from an internal OpenAI security investigation. Alfozan is accused of planting a listening device in OpenAI executive meetings to exfiltrate strategy and product information. US federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges carrying a potential five-year prison sentence.
At time of reporting Alfozan had been terminated and the case is in active prosecution. The Verge notes that this case sits alongside the October 14 incident in which a Saudi engineer at OpenAI was arrested for hiding a recording device to capture executive meetings. Together, the cases highlight growing attention to OpenAI's internal counter-intelligence capability and the vulnerability of frontier AI companies to nation-state intelligence risks.