A company that sells software allowing governments to hack into computers has itself been hacked, and files posted late Sunday indicate it sold surveillance technology to dozens of countries, including Sudan, Egypt, Russia and the U.S.

The Italian company, Hacking Team, or HT S.r.l., is among a handful of companies that offer such surveillance tools to law enforcement around the world. The company’s techniques are similar to those used in “malware” by criminals trying to steal computer users’ personal information.

The market for off-the-shelf surveillance tech, including such software, has grown. In 2011, an industry veteran estimated it at $5 billion a year, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Hacking Team says its tools enable investigators to obtain information even if targets encrypt their communications to protect them.

The industry has come under fire over allegations that the software is used by repressive regimes to target dissidents, journalists and others. Hacking Team says on its website it doesn’t sell to countries if there are “credible concerns” that its products “will be used to facilitate human rights violations.”