San Francisco, October 14: One of the world’s most closely watched AI companies says it used its own AI to help catch an alleged bugger inside its office. The FBI has arrested OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national, on charges of secretly planting a recording device in an executive conference room at the company’s San Francisco headquarters.

The US Justice Department announced the arrest on Tuesday. The charges are allegations, and Alfozan has not been convicted of anything.

What officials say happened

According to the FBI complaint, a thumb-sized device with a microphone, one that could also connect to a camera, was found hidden in toilet paper in a room used for highly confidential meetings. OpenAI says the device was planted a few days before it was found in late September, and the company reported it to the FBI right away.

Prosecutors say Alfozan had worked at OpenAI as an engineer since July 2025, and the company says he was on its product team. The complaint alleges he later returned to the room on October 5 to check behind the television, where the device had been, only to find it gone. The visit was caught on the office’s closed-circuit cameras.

The same day, the complaint says, he left a bag unattended in another room. Security staff opened it and found his wallet, his identification, and a second, similar recording device.

How AI helped

OpenAI said in a post on X that it used its internal AI models to identify the person responsible and to trace where the device came from. The complaint also says an account submitted prompts to OpenAI’s systems describing the building, installing, hiding, and remote use of a recording device, with details that matched the one later found. The company has described the case as an example of how AI can help defend against sophisticated security threats.

Arrest and charges

Alfozan was arrested on Friday, October 9, and OpenAI fired him the same day. The company says it agreed the timing of his dismissal with the FBI so as not to disrupt the investigation. He has been charged with using, or trying to use, a device to intercept oral communications, and has made his first appearance in a US federal court. Reports say he is due back in court later this week.

FBI Director Kash Patel said on X that the agency and its partners made the arrest, accusing Alfozan of trying to secretly capture sensitive communications about the company’s “super intelligence” technology. He called it a matter of national security and said the investigation is continuing.

What OpenAI says was and wasn’t affected.

OpenAI says it has no indication that Alfozan improperly accessed or took model weights, source code, or customer data. It also says it has seen no activity that compromised the safety of its products or customers’ information. The company says it treats the protection of its technology, data and people as a matter of national importance.

What we don’t yet know

Authorities have not publicly detailed why the device was planted, or whether anyone else was involved. The Saudi embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment. As the case moves through the court, more details are likely to come out.

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