OpenAI finds hidden office recording device; arrested Saudi-national employee had one-way ticket to Saudi Arabia
OpenAI says it found a hidden recording device in an office, identified the employee who planted it with help from its models, and referred the case to the FBI, which made an arrest; no signs of model weights, code, or customer data exfiltration. Per Bloomberg, the engineer had booked a one-way ticket to Saudi Arabia for Oct 12. DOJ identified him as a Saudi national. Commenters including Nathan Calvin, Tim Hua, and Samuel Hammond doubt the operation was sophisticated or state-run; Miles Brundage cites it for why security must come first.
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- yeah my current leading guess is that he /was/ told to do it, but didn't himself have spy training7 likes · 0 reposts
- this is the government getting curb stomped by the houthis despite being mindbogglingly wealthy24 likes · 0 reposts
- I dunno. Saudi intelligence often does clumsy and moronic stuff eg Khashoggi murder.37 likes · 0 reposts
- I'd have fled the country the day I left my bag somewhere with the second listening device in it and when I got the bag back, the listening device was missing.73 likes · 0 reposts
- The reason he looked so surprised in that image was after the security team found the device they removed it and replaced it with a camera, so when he went back to get it he found he was staring directly into a lens.28 likes · 1 reposts
- Might want to be extra careful hosting model weights in Saudi data centers 😬"The OpenAI employee who was arrested and charged with allegedly using a hidden recording device in one of the ChatGPT maker’s San Francisco offices had a one-way ticket to Saudi Arabia booked for Oct. 12, according to a court filing." bloomberg.com/news/articles/…48 likes · 1 reposts
- 15 likes · 0 reposts
- He was going to fly out Monday morning.
@andrewcurran_: OpenAI's offices were bugged by an employee. The employee has been terminated. The FBI has made an arrest. Detective Astra with the assist.671 likes · 33 reposts - If the Saudi govt was involved couldn't they have mailed him a proper listening device rather than make him DIY it? Genuine question. I get that real-world spycraft often involves asking an asset to do a thing when they may not always be the most competent.This is an extremely bad look for Saudi Arabia, and if the Saudi government is indeed involved, this should have significant implications for the US-Saudi AI relationship. Good on OpenAI for reporting this and the DOJ and FBI for acting quickly. Quick reactions: (1) US AI labs host some of the most valuable and sensitive technology in the world, and are now a prime intelligence collection target.…79 likes · 4 reposts
- it's behind a TV. After they found out about the bug, they planted the camera to catch him in the act of retrieving it.16 likes · 0 reposts
- The guy who planted the bug at OpenAI HQ was apparently asking ChatGPT things like... - "list meeting rooms in [Building 1] that are 6+" - "can you list today's meeting in this room" - "where did you find room's calener?" - "build a continuous audio recorder" - "develop a second unit and speech-triggered recording" - "develop a third unit and refine everyday use" Don't vibecode your crimes, kids.
@openainewsroom: We discovered a sophisticated recording device that was hidden inside one of our offices. We used our models to understand the device and where it had come from, identifying that a specific employee had planted it a few days earlier. We referred the matter to the FBI, and we’re grateful to the agents and prosecutors who moved quickly to make an arrest. The FBI’s investigation is ongoing and we wi…225 likes · 14 reposts - you have to admit, if I got anywhere with that getup, it would say a lot about that company's physical security13 likes · 0 reposts
- this guy wasn't a genius
14 likes · 0 reposts - This attempt to record OpenAI doesn't strike me as that sophisticated. My guess is there are more sophisticated attacks that are potentially succeeding.@openainewsroom: We discovered a sophisticated recording device that was hidden inside one of our offices. We used our models to understand the device and where it had come from, identifying that a specific employee had planted it a few days earlier. We referred the matter to the FBI, and we’re grateful to the agents and prosecutors who moved quickly to make an arrest. The FBI’s investigation is ongoing and we wi…121 likes · 7 reposts
- tbc it wasn't, we have a particular name and the guy is under arrest.63 likes · 0 reposts
- If you don't find any spies in your office, the correct estimate already was not zero. Luckily, now we've found him.182 likes · 0 reposts
- When you catch one spy and the spy was acting factually stupid, there are two possibilities.@andrewcurran_: It seems like he also used his wife's ChatGPT account to do it. It's like, fractally stupid.1,372 likes · 38 reposts
- *taps the sign* milesbrundage.substack.com/p/why-security…
40 likes · 1 reposts - This is just the beginning In the years to come, OpenAI and Anthropic will be dealing with top nation-state operations every day@openainewsroom: We discovered a sophisticated recording device that was hidden inside one of our offices. We used our models to understand the device and where it had come from, identifying that a specific employee had planted it a few days earlier. We referred the matter to the FBI, and we’re grateful to the agents and prosecutors who moved quickly to make an arrest. The FBI’s investigation is ongoing and we wi…3 likes · 0 reposts
- Seems likely that this one might not even been state-backed@_nathancalvin: Yeah. One of the pieces of evidence discussed in the Justice Department press release is also that they found a chatbot account associated linked to him asking lots of questions about recording devices, including information specific to the device they found. Seems like a pretty silly thing to ask a chatbot about your planned (alleged) crimes, but it wouldn't be the first time. (Side note - I won…21 likes · 1 reposts
- Yeah. One of the pieces of evidence discussed in the Justice Department press release is also that they found a chatbot account associated linked to him asking lots of questions about recording devices, including information specific to the device they found. Seems like a pretty silly thing to ask a chatbot about your planned (alleged) crimes, but it wouldn't be the first time. (Side note - I wonder which chatbot - I would imagine not ChatGPT but you never know.) That doesn't mean its not state backed, but definitely seems like not the most sophisticated operation.
@tim_hua_: I feel like the most sophisticated state-level actors wouldn't need to plant a recording decide in order to listen in on what's happening in the exec conference room...31 likes · 2 reposts - I feel like the most sophisticated state-level actors wouldn't need to plant a recording decide in order to listen in on what's happening in the exec conference room...JUST IN: Saudi employee of OpenAI arrested after planting an audio recording device in the company's executive conference room - DOJ80 likes · 3 reposts
- it does not , at first glance, appear to have been china. hm.
@openainewsroom: We discovered a sophisticated recording device that was hidden inside one of our offices. We used our models to understand the device and where it had come from, identifying that a specific employee had planted it a few days earlier. We referred the matter to the FBI, and we’re grateful to the agents and prosecutors who moved quickly to make an arrest. The FBI’s investigation is ongoing and we wi…239 likes · 8 reposts - DOJ apparently says the individual was a Saudi national (Hadas works at CNN). Obv unclear if state backed or with some other intent (also all alleged etc). Wild stuff.DOJ says this was a Saudi National21 likes · 0 reposts
- We discovered a sophisticated recording device that was hidden inside one of our offices. We used our models to understand the device and where it had come from, identifying that a specific employee had planted it a few days earlier. We referred the matter to the FBI, and we’re grateful to the agents and prosecutors who moved quickly to make an arrest. The FBI’s investigation is ongoing and we will continue to support their work. At this time, we have no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data. The employee was terminated. We take protecting our technology, data, and people seriously, and as a matter of national importance. Our security program is designed to protect against a wide range of threat actors, from insider risks to cybercriminals to nation states, and this case is an example of how AI can help address these sophisticated security threats.76,848 likes · 11,672 reposts
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