Crosswire — October 21, 2026
DAILY BRIEFING
TECH & NATIONAL SECURITY
Ex-OpenAI Engineer Charged With Bugging a Conference Room, Allegedly With Saudi Backing
What happened: Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national, is charged with planting an audio recorder in an OpenAI conference room. He had worked at the company for about a year.
How it unfolded:
30 September: OpenAI found the recorder plugged into the back of a TV and covered with toilet paper.
5 October: A camera installed after the discovery allegedly filmed Alfozan checking behind the TV.
9 October: The FBI arrested him, three days before a booked one-way…
The skinny
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