A wealthy figure in Australia linked to Russian spy agencies and President Vladimir Putin's regime has emerged as the likely mystery "puppeteer" caught in a recent ASIO operation that thwarted an overseas attempt to interfere with a local election.

Vague details of the foreign interference plot were first publicly revealed on Wednesday night, when ASIO boss Mike Burgess delivered his annual threat assessment inside the spy agency's Canberra headquarters. 

During his speech, Mr Burgess outlined how a "wealthy individual with direct and deep connections with a foreign government" covertly sought to "undermine Australia's sovereignty". 

"I'll call this person 'the puppeteer', although it's important to remember that while the puppeteer pulled the strings, the foreign government called the shots," Mr Burgess said. 

Intelligence sources familiar with the matter have told the ABC it was orchestrated by Russia, which wanted to bankroll vulnerable political candidates in an unspecified Australian election to get sympathetic MPs elected to parliament. 

While declining to name the foreign nation involved or the Australian jurisdiction, Mr Burgess described how the "puppeteer" hired another individual to enable foreign interference operations and used an offshore bank account to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars for operating expenses.

When pressed by journalists after his speech, Mr Burgess declined to give further details of the thwarted plot, including which jurisdiction it occurred in, or who had financed it. 

"I won't say which jurisdiction it was in, and the reasons I'm saying that — [1] it's not my job to do attribution and [2] it's many countries that are doing this and actually it happens at all levels of government in every state and territory including the federal," he said.

A spokesperson for the Russian embassy in Canberra declined to comment on the matter when approached by the ABC on Thursday. 

Last year, Russia was also identified by intelligence sources as the likely source of a "nest of spies" removed from Australia after being caught trying to access military secrets.

Dating apps, vaccine protests draw attention

The ASIO boss has also revealed how foreign spies are using Tinder and other dating apps to recruit Australians with access to sensitive government secrets.

"ASIO is also tracking suspicious approaches on dating platforms such as Tinder, Bumble and Hinge," Mr Burgess said.

"My message for any potential victims on these sites is a familiar one: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is."

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The warning has been echoed by the chair of parliament's Intelligence Committee, Senator James Paterson, who advised Australians:

In his wide-ranging address to an audience of military chiefs, security bosses and politicians inside ASIO's Canberra headquarters, Mr Burgess also confirmed that espionage and foreign interference have now "supplanted" terrorism as the "principal security concern", declaring the recent AUKUS nuclear partnership was an obvious target for international agents. 

Mr Burgess also discussed the difficulties his agency encountered in identifying anti-vaccine activists who might turn violent. 

"Some Australians believe the government's approach to vaccinations and lockdowns infringed their freedoms. And, in a small number of cases, grievance turned to violence," he said.

"In this uptick in specific-issue or grievance-motivated violent extremism, many of the actors are newcomers, so it's harder to get a sense of what is simply big talk — and what is genuine planning for violence."

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