diff --git a/vm/src/config.rs b/vm/src/config.rs
index 169fdab..8ea0d8f 100644
--- a/vm/src/config.rs
+++ b/vm/src/config.rs
@@ -43,6 +43,9 @@
     /// Disk images to be made available to the VM.
     #[serde(default)]
     pub disks: Vec<DiskImage>,
+    /// Whether the VM should be a protected VM.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub protected: bool,
 }
 
 impl VmConfig {
@@ -80,6 +83,7 @@
             params: self.params.clone(),
             bootloader: maybe_open_parcel_file(&self.bootloader, false)?,
             disks: self.disks.iter().map(DiskImage::to_parcelable).collect::<Result<_, Error>>()?,
+            protected_vm: self.protected,
         })
     }
 }