BARCELONA, Feb 28 —Abu Dhabi-based cyber security firm DarkMatter presented a secure phone yesterday for politicians and business leaders, tapping into a growing market as governments are revealed to be snooping on citizens and hacking attacks are on the rise.

The phone, which runs on a security system called Katim, offers end-to-end protection at four levels: The phone, its operating systems, applications and cyber command.

"I am not talking about a phone for the average consumer,” Faisal Al Bannai, founder and chief executive of DarkMatter, said at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. "We are addressing heads of state, government entities, large enterprises, who really hold sacred security and confidentiality.”

Security comes at a price. Germany’s GSMK, which is active in the same market, charges at least €1,500 (RM7,064) for its so-called CryptoPhones.

DarkMatter did not disclose a price tag for the phone, which start shipping in the fourth quarter of this year. — Reuters