A couple of years ago, a curious, then-16-year-old hacker named Reynaldo Vazquez Garcia found what seemed to be a “smart” smoke and vape detection gadget in his school called the Halo 3C. He discovered it monitored much more than just smoke.

He learned that the Halo 3C goes beyond detecting smoke and vaping. It also has a microphone for “aggression detection,” gunshots, and keywords such as someone calling for help.

Now, after two years of reverse engineering and security testing, Garcia and a fellow hacker he’s partnered with who goes by the pseudonym “Nyx,” have shown that it’s possible to hack one of those Halo 3C gadgets and take full control of it.

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