Accused OpenAI spy had folder called “Saudi Gov Docs,” FBI says
US fears Saudi government will help ex-OpenAI engineer flee spying charges.
US fears Saudi government will help ex-OpenAI engineer flee spying charges.
The short version
- On Monday, a court granted the US government’s request to deny release of a former OpenAI engineer accused of bugging a top-secret conference room to steal the frontier lab’s secrets.
- Evidence showed that Alfozan had been chatting with a member of the KSA royal family on WhatsApp, while pursuing opportunities to permanently move back to Saudi Arabia during the country’s biggest AI push yet, the government argued.
- Shortly before his arrest, the FBI found he accessed a folder called “Saudi Gov Docs” on his iPhone, where he also allegedly stored photos of a second bug he planted in the offices.
What happened
With so much evidence against him, Alfozan—a Saudi national and US permanent legal resident—is a flight risk with seemingly endless support from the Saudi government, Missakian alleged. After receiving “significant compensation from a decade of high-tech employment in the Bay Area,” Alfozan has “ample resources” to run away to Saudi Arabia, the US government alleged.
Why it matters
He also has “at least two bank accounts in Saudi Arabia,” the government said.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Ars Technica via the links above and below.