A security patch Microsoft released this month failed to fully fix a critical flaw in the U.S. tech giant's SharePoint server software, opening the door to a sweeping global cyber espionage effort, a timeline reviewed by Reuters shows.

The company uncovers evidence that at least three China-based hacking groups are abusing the zero-day flaw in SharePoint software to access servers.

At least 54 organizations have been breached in the attacks. Some of the attacks that targeted organizations using an exploit in Microsoft’s SharePoint server platform over the last few days have been linked to hacking groups affiliated with the Chinese government, according to a new Microsoft security blog.