Photo by REUTERS/PAWEL KOPCZYNSKI

Islamic State militants are trying to develop the capability to launch deadly cyber attacks against Britain’s infrastructure, finance minister George Osborne will say on Tuesday as he announces a doubling of spending on cyber security, reports.

Osborne, Prime Minister David Cameron’s close ally, said Friday’s attacks in Paris, which killed at least 129 people and were claimed by Islamic State (ISIL), underscored the need to improve Britain’s protections against electronic attack.

“ISIL are already using the Internet for hideous propaganda purposes; for radicalisation, for operational planning too,” he said in excerpts of a speech he was due to give at Britain’s GCHQ eavesdropping agency.

“They have not been able to use it to kill people yet by attacking our infrastructure through cyber attack,” he said. “But we know they want it and are doing their best to build it.”