The Director-General of Security of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) Mike Burgess disclosed that the organisation discovered numerous states interfering with Australia’s diaspora communities during an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Sunday.

The interview follows the recent raise of the terror threat level in Australia from “possible” to “probable”, categorising Australia as having a 50 percent or greater chance of experiencing an onshore attack in the next 12 months. Burgess stressed that foreign interference remains a principal security concern and noted that three or four states were involved in threatening and intimidating individuals living in Australia. He said that Iran was among the states involved, as was previously revealed by then-Minister for Home Affairs Claire O’Neil during an address earlier this year.

Burgess noted that the internet, and social media in particular, is the “greatest incubator of violent extremism”, and warned politicians to be careful in their use of language to ensure their words are not used to drive violence. Burgess identified the rise in unmonitored social media use during COVID-19 as a likely factor in the increase of minors embracing violent extremism in the country. Since April, five out of eight identified potential terror attacks have involved minors, including an April stabbing at a Sydney church that led to the arrest of 5 juveniles in connection with the crime. Police identified religious extremism, a dominant driver of violence pinpointed by Burgess, as a potential motive behind the attack.

In an earlier press statement announcing the change in threat level, Burgess assured Australians they should not be afraid but “aware”, noting that “probable does not mean inevitable”.