Secret Listening Device Found Behind TV in OpenAI Executive Conference Room

A Saudi national employee who allegedly planted an illegal wiretapping device in the executive conference room of OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, has been indicted in a U.S. federal court.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced on the 13th (local time) that 35-year-old Saudi engineer Abdulrahman Al-Fozan, who was arrested on charges of attempting to eavesdrop by hiding an illegal recording device in OpenAI's San Francisco headquarters office, appeared in federal court.

Al-Fozan, who joined the company as an engineer in July of last year, is accused of entering an executive conference room without access or meeting participation privileges and secretly installing an audio recording device wrapped in tissue paper into the USB port on the back of a TV.

The conference room was a space where OpenAI's core secrets and technological strategies, such as exclusive research, new product plans, and cooperation measures with the government, were discussed. The listening device was discovered by an internal employee on September 30.

OpenAI also confirmed that the device, hidden in tissue paper and plugged into the USB port, was installed around September 28, and that its contents were encrypted.

Through the analysis of closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage inside the building, U.S. investigative authorities tracked Al-Fozan's movements as he appeared near the executive conference room over several days, discovered an additional recording device in his bag, and emergency arrested him on October 9.

If convicted, Al-Fozan could face up to five years in prison and a fine of 250,000 dollars.

The U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence defined this incident as an attempted technology leak directly linked to national security and economic power, stating they will strengthen counterintelligence investigations to protect private-sector advanced technology and intellectual property.

Reported by Lee Hyeon-yeong | Video by Na Hong-hee | Graphics by Sumin | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.