In order to develop a method for carrying out a protected function of an electrical field device in such a manner that a high degree of security against unauthorized accesses to the electrical field device can be ensured irrespective of the nature of the communication link between a user and the electrical field device, an identification device for the electrical field device and a security device are used to check whether a stated protected function of the electrical field device can be carried out, or should be refused. The invention also relates to an appropriately configured electrical field device.