Palo Alto, California | Australia’s intelligence agency would consider going under cover in mosques and other religious places in the search for extremists if there was enough rationale to do so, Australia’s top spy says, adding ASIO had increased its vigilance since the Hamas attacks on Israel.

ASIO director general Mike Burgess said that while Australia’s terrorist threat assessment had not changed, the agency had seen an increase in neo-Nazis and Islamic extremists consuming and commenting on incendiary content that raised concerns around potential violence.