Hackers at the 22nd DEF CON held in Las Vegas from Aug. 7 through Aug. 10 broke into Google's Nest devices that control home automation systems.

Computer security experts at the Back Hat and DEF CON conferences were able to access essential settings on Nest's smoke detectors and thermostats that are currently used in many automated homes.

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Hackers referenced the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" with a creepy message from the rogue artificial intelligence Hal after it discovered that it was about to be deactivated, according to Venture Beat.

Speakers at the conference revealed how they were able compromise the device in front of hundreds in attendance. The urge to connect all smart devices to the Internet, which is the promise of the Internet of Things, could be dampened by glaring flaws in security systems unmasked by hacking the vulnerable Nest device.

"This goes back to the theme of what are we sacrificing in the name of convenience," said Daniel Buentello, one of four presenters who talked about hacking Nest's smart devices.

"This is a computer that the user can't put an antivirus on. Worse yet, there's a secret back door that a bad person could use and stay there forever. It's a literal fly on the wall."

Nest, which was acquired by Google last January for US$3.2 billion, uses technology in its smoke detectors and thermostats in a user's home to detect the presence of an individual to modify the home environment accordingly.

Buentello said cybercriminals could tunnel all of the Internet traffic in such a way that the hacker gains access to confidential information such as credit cards and social security numbers.

"If you have a computer, it crashes and you take it to Best Buy," he added.

"How the hell will you know your thermostat is infected? You won't."

Based in Palo Alto, California, Nest Labs is a home automation company that designs and manufactures sensor-driven, Wi-Fi-enabled, self-learning, programmable thermostats and smoke detectors.

On January 14, 2014, Google acquired Nest Labs but left Nest Labs to use its own brand.

TagsSmart Device, Tablet, technology, hackers, Black hat, DEF CON