System Administration Guide: Security Services

ProcedureHow to Require a Password for Hardware Access

On an x86 system, the equivalent to protecting the PROM is to protect the BIOS. Refer to your machine's manuals for how to protect the BIOS.

  1. Become superuser or assume a role that includes the Device Security profile, the Maintenance and Repair profile, or the System Administrator profile.

    The System Administrator profile includes the Maintenance and Repair profile. To create a role that includes the System Administrator profile and to assign the role to a user, see Configuring RBAC (Task Map).

  2. In a terminal window, type the PROM security mode.


    # eeprom security-mode=command
    
    Changing PROM password:
    New password: <Type password>
    Retype new password: <Retype password>	
    

    Choose the value command or full. For more details, see the eeprom(1M) man page.

    If, when you type the preceding command, you are not prompted for a PROM password, the system already has a PROM password.

  3. (Optional) To change the PROM password, type the following command:


    # eeprom security-password= Press Return
    Changing PROM password:
    New password: <Type password>
    Retype new password: <Retype password>
    

    The new PROM security mode and password are in effect immediately. However, they are most likely to be noticed at the next boot.


    Caution – Caution –

    Do not forget the PROM password. The hardware is unusable without this password.