Reuters says OpenAI employees warned of internal security vulnerabilities years ago
Reuters, citing five people familiar with the matter, reported that as early as late 2022, before ChatGPT was launched, some OpenAI employees had already raised concerns with senior executives and the board that security controls were too lax, believing that management was more focused on catching up with Google and Anthropic. In October of this year, the U.S. Department of Justice accused OpenAI engineer Alfouzan of hiding a recording device in the toilet paper in an executive meeting room. An OpenAI spokesperson responded that the company is one of the most targeted institutions, has invested heavily in its security program, and that in August Sottiaux had reassigned a quarter of its production engineers to improve security infrastructure.
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The report discloses that employees had raised security vulnerabilities with management and the board years ago, revealing the trade-off between security investment and the pace of competition.
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Could the eavesdropping scandal have been avoided? Sources say OpenAI employees had warned about security vulnerabilities for years
Phoenix Tech Download the app for exclusive early access November 04, 2026 07:06:05 From Beijing
Alfozan is accused of installing eavesdropping equipment
Phoenix Tech News, Beijing time November 4, according to Reuters, OpenAI disclosed in October of this year that the company had discovered a secretly planted recording device in an executive meeting room. Many former OpenAI employees reacted the same way: they were not surprised.
The U.S. Department of Justice said on October 13 that U.S. federal law enforcement officers had arrested Saudi national Abdulrahman Alfozan and charged him with installing a hidden recording device in an executive meeting room. The device was hidden in toilet paper to avoid detection. Alfozan, now 35, was an engineer at OpenAI at the time.
According to five people familiar with the matter, as early as late 2022, before OpenAI launched ChatGPT, some company employees had already raised concerns internally about its security practices. These employees had expressed their concerns to OpenAI's senior leadership and board of directors. However, some employees concluded after communicating with management and the board that management was more focused on keeping pace with competitors such as Google and Anthropic than on security itself.
People familiar with the matter said these employees believed OpenAI's security controls were too lax, to the point that outsiders (including foreign governments) could relatively easily obtain the company's sensitive technical information. For example, any OpenAI employee with access to the company's code could view the technical details behind many company projects.
According to two people familiar with the matter, OpenAI has begun adjusting its strategy to address security issues. Thibault Sottiaux, a senior management member responsible for overseeing product development, recently took charge of an internal initiative aimed at strengthening the security of OpenAI's internal systems. In August of this year, Sottiaux reassigned a quarter of OpenAI's production engineers to improve its security infrastructure.
These internal warnings, including employees' complaints over the years to leadership about internal vulnerabilities, some details of which had not been previously reported, reveal a tension within the AI field. Since ChatGPT's launch in late 2022, AI technology has become a strategic asset for the United States, putting pressure on American companies to protect their technology from foreign competitors.
However, adding more layers of security protection may also slow the pace of advancing AI technology and could complicate the large-scale IPO plans of OpenAI and Anthropic. These IPOs would place them among the world's most valuable companies.
Will DePue, a former researcher who resigned from OpenAI in April of this year, posted on X that in such a highly competitive environment, leaders in the AI field "cannot sacrifice speed for safety. For them, advancing technology quickly is more important than ensuring safety; even when defending against the most powerful state adversaries, they still put speed above safety."
When asked about employees' concerns and their view that management had not acted on these issues, OpenAI spokesperson Elana Widmann said OpenAI is one of the most targeted institutions in the world. She said that as a result, the company has invested heavily in its security program to defend against attacks from insiders, cybercriminals, and state actors.
"Protecting our technology, data, and employees is a responsibility we take very seriously, and it is work of national importance. Our recent actions show that this security mechanism is working: identifying risks and responding decisively. As technology and threats continue to evolve, we will continue to strengthen our defenses," Widmann said. (Author/Xiao Yu)
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