The Saudi spy was disgraced in Open AI

American federal agents have arrested a man of Saudi nationality who is an engineer of Open A and accused him of installing a secret audio listening device in a conference room of senior managers in the company.

According to Ambassador Arjan, quoted by Reuters, the case reflects increasing security concerns about sensitive artificial intelligence research as companies and governments compete fiercely to acquire talent and technology that provide economic and strategic advantages.

According to the statement of the US Department of Justice, 35-year-old Abdulrahman Al-Fouzan worked as an engineer at OpenAI since July 2025. Also, according to this statement, on September 30, OpenAI discovered a listening device that was connected to a USB port behind the television in a conference room of senior managers in one of the company's buildings in San Francisco.

The mentioned device was the size of a thumb and had a microphone that was also connected to the camera. This gadget was hidden in a toilet paper. The device was probably connected on September 28 and stored encrypted and inaccessible data. Detectives later found a similar personalized device in Al-Fouzan's personal bag.

OpenAI wrote on a social network X that it uses its internal artificial intelligence models to identify the person who installed this device and its origin. The company claims that the evidence shows that the said employee intended to install other listening devices in the sensitive areas of his offices for the purpose of recording meetings.

The artificial intelligence company stated in this regard: There is currently no indication that the person in question improperly accessed or transferred model weights, source code, or customer data. This employee has been fired.

OpenAI has referred this matter to the FBI, which is investigating the matter. The Saudi Arabian embassy in the United States did not respond to requests for comment.