CNN reported that the device was discovered on September 30 during a regular sweep, inserted into a USB port behind a television screen and concealed in toilet paper.
The US Department of Justice identified the former employee as Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, who had worked as a product-team engineer since July 2025. He was arrested on October 9 and remained in federal custody when CNN published its report. The DOJ alleged that additional similar devices were found in his backpack.
OpenAI said the device had encryption and a data-transfer mechanism intended to evade monitoring, and that it had evidence Alfozan intended to place further devices in its offices. The company said it had no indication that model weights, source code, or customer data had been improperly accessed or exfiltrated. The report does not establish what, if any, conversations were recorded, whether data was transmitted, or the outcome of the criminal case.