The German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) purchased Israeli-made Pegasus spyware in 2019, the German newspaper Die Zeit confirmed on Tuesday.

Pegasus spyware is produced by the Israeli NSO Group cyber company and recently came under heavy criticism when a report back in July suggested that the software had been used by authoritarian governments worldwide.

The spyware had been used to hack 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, government officials and human rights activists around the world, according to the report.