OPENAI
A rather crappy spy operation
An OpenAI engineer has been arrested after allegedly hiding a recording device behind a screen in an executive meeting room at the company’s San Francisco office.
According to court documents, Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, allegedly spent weeks using AI chatbots to help plan the operation.
He also reportedly used an internal OpenAI tool to check which meetings were taking place in the room.
The room was mainly used by senior executives for private meetings about AI research, new products, business plans and government partnerships.
Here are three key details:
Both were small recording devices with microphones and encrypted storage, meaning investigators have been unable to access the recordings.
Authorities still don't know why the devices were allegedly planted or whether any private conversations were recorded.
Alfozan faces one federal charge for allegedly recording private conversations without permission. He could face up to five years in prison if convicted.
The spy who loved stationery
OpenAI’s security team found the device on 30 September during a security check.
It was reportedly wrapped in toilet paper and plugged into a USB port behind a television. A second recording device was later found in Alfozan’s bag.
OpenAI contacted the FBI and reviewed security footage and chat records during its investigation. Alfozan was later arrested and fired.
OpenAI says it has found no evidence that its AI models, source code or customer data were accessed or stolen.
You needed weeks of AI planning to come up with “hide microphone behind TV...?” -MV