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Saudi OpenAI engineer had booked one-way flight to Saudi Arabia before his FBI arrest over spy device

The encrypted recording device Alfozan allegedly concealed was discovered during a security sweep on 30 September, with OpenAI deploying its own AI models to identify him as the culprit.
The encrypted recording device Alfozan allegedly concealed was discovered during a security sweep on 30 September, with OpenAI deploying its own AI models to identify him as the culprit.
Abdulrahman Alfozan, the Saudi OpenAI engineer accused of concealing a recording device to intercept communications about the company's superintelligence technology, made his first federal court appearance on Tuesday.
Abdulrahman Alfozan, the Saudi OpenAI engineer accused of concealing a recording device to intercept communications about the company's superintelligence technology, made his first federal court appearance on Tuesday.

Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national employed as an OpenAI engineer, had booked one-way flights to Saudi Arabia on October 12 for himself, his wife and a third family member before FBI agents arrested him over a covert recording device found at OpenAI's San Francisco headquarters in an executive conference room. Prosecutors are treating the case as a national security matter amid America's AI race with China. OpenAI used its own AI models to connect the device to Alfozan within days of its discovery.

The thumb-sized device, concealed in toilet paper and drawing power from a TV's USB port, was recovered on September 30 from a room where discussions on confidential research, product plans and government contracts took place.

Alfozan's wife allegedly turned to a chatbot to research how to build, install and remotely access a continuous audio recorder — with her queries referencing the same device's unique identifiers.

CCTV footage then captured Alfozan re-entering the room on October 5 and appearing to inspect the area behind the TV where the device had been hidden, effectively clinching the FBI's case against him.

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