I don't think you can. Because of the way linking works, even using a routine that unprotects and the re locks wont work (at least I couln't get it to)
Why do you need to protect the workbook and link it with access?
Is there maybee another way you could achieve this?
Explain more about what it is you are trying to achieve and the circumstances that surround your protected data in Excel.
This thing has been bugging me so I took another look.
If you open the workbook on your machine then you can link or import the worksheets
So dependant on how often the workbook is updated you may be able to get away with that and open the workbook first. The workbook will need to be open on your machine anytime you need to use it in Access. If not, as you say, you may be able to do it with VB. Although I'm not sure how VB would handle the encryption given to a protected WB