OpenAI Warns Staff That Spies May Use Romance to Steal Secrets

Oct 16, 2026
OpenAI is training employees to recognize espionage attempts involving romance, casual conversations and public surveillance. Staff have also received guidance on protecting company information outside the office.

OpenAI is warning employees that foreign spies could use romance or casual encounters to obtain company secrets, according to a Wall Street Journal report cited by NDTV. Training scenarios include strangers steering playground conversations toward an employee's work and agents using romantic approaches to target officials.

Employees have reportedly been advised to avoid company logo clothing in public, use privacy screens on phones and laptops, erase whiteboards after meetings and watch for eavesdropping in cafes. Staff at Anthropic and Google have reportedly received similar warnings.

The report comes days after former OpenAI employee Abdulrahman Alfozan was charged with violating a federal recording law. Prosecutors allege he concealed a recording device behind a television in an executive conference room. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and his lawyer said the allegations were out of character.

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