Federal prosecutors charged an OpenAI engineer and Saudi national with attempting to intercept communications by allegedly planting an encrypted recording device in an executive conference room at the company’s San Francisco office. OpenAI said it discovered the device, alerted the FBI and used internal AI tools to identify the suspect; the company said there is no indication its source code, model weights or customer data were accessed. Prosecutors allege the device—hidden in toilet paper and plugged into a TV’s USB port—was installed days earlier, and that CCTV later showed the suspect returning to inspect it; a similar device was found in his bag. Investigators say he used software tools and chatbots to research how to build and conceal a continuous audio recorder. The employee was fired and, if convicted, faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Related articles:
Anthony Levandowski and the Waymo–Uber trade secrets case
Xiaolang Zhang: Apple self-driving car trade secrets case
Waymo v. Uber trade secrets lawsuit
