It is not only because of the world’s first seven-star hotel – the Burj Al Arab – that luxury and decadence are linked to the Middle East as much as sand and oil. It is said that the humble palace of the Sultan of Brunei consists of an unbelievable 1,788 rooms, some of which decorated with diamonds and gold. But then again this might be a reasonable home to someone who owns 5,000 luxury cars.

Whether expansive jewelry, special-made limousines or mind-blowing estates, rich Arabs are as rich as it gets. The top four earners on the Forbes-list of rulers and royals are all from the Orient. With so much wealth at their disposal, it is not surprising that rich Arabs have to be way more concerned about their security than other people. That is why they travel in armored cars with bodyguards surrounding them and never really appear in public. More bulletproof luxury vehicles are sold to the Middle East than to any other continent on earth.

Another area where rich Arabic people are very security-conscious is their communication routine. Of course it is advisable to keep unwanted ears excluded when discussing multi-million dollar business. So called Cryptophones enable tap-proof phoning for all those who can afford it.

With help of the sophisticated IDEA (International Data Encryption Algorithm) technology, audio waves are being encrypted while being exchanged through phone lines. For anyone tapping into the conversation nothing but inscrutable noise is being heard. While the recipient of the call is also using the same decryption-technology, both sides can talk seamlessly with maximum security.

Of course rich Arabs are by far not the only people using this new secure way of conducting phone calls. Politicians and important business managers around the world are all engaging in this protective method of communicating. However it is doubtful that Cryptophones will become a mass-product within the next year or two. But then again, who knows what people will have to do in order to maintain some sort of privacy in the near future…