Software maker Adobe says it is fixing a critical flaw revealed by the spectacular attack on Italian surveillance company Hacking Team.

Hacking Team makes surveillance software used by governments, intelligence agencies and police worldwide to tap into phones and computers without the user's knowledge.

One of Hacking Team's tools, now in the hands of the attackers, takes advantage of a previously unknown bug in Adobe Flash Player to hijack targeted computers. (REUTERS)

Sunday's breach sent hundreds of gigabytes of Hacking Team's internal data coursing into the public domain.

Although the focus has largely been on the Milan-based company's email correspondence, Hacking Team also appears to have lost control of the surveillance software used to spy on its targets.

Security researchers say malicious actors have wasted little time in looting the stricken company's electronic arsenal and are now adopting Hacking Team's tools for their own attacks.

One such tool is aimed at taking advantage of a previously unknown bug in Adobe Flash Player to hijack targeted computers.

Adobe Systems Inc. says it hoped to patch the bug later Wednesday.