The country’s spy boss has warned at least three countries are “willing and capable” to order assassination hits on Australian soil, possibly by using criminals for hire as Iran did to direct recent arson attacks here.

In a wide-ranging speech ASIO director-general Mike Burgess has for the first time detailed the agency’s international activities, including a recent operation where an officer disrupted a foreign intelligence plot to steal AUKUS and critical minerals secrets.

Addressing the Lowy institute in Sydney on Tuesday night, Mr Burgess also revealed investigations are underway into acts of foreign interference that involve Moscow-controlled influencers in Australia who promote divisive messages on social media.

“These state-sanctioned trolls are more than propaganda puppets; they

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