Setup of secure BLE connection for ESP32

I need to put a password for BLE connection of ESP32. Namely, I need to create a password as an array, and every time I need to connect my phone I will enter it. System will check if password is correct and then let me make an action (for now it is just control over LED). I searched for a solution but couldn't find anything similar. I only know that I should somehow use EEPROM. I put basic code which includes actions appart from password.

const byte led_gpio = 32;
int LED_BUILTIN = 2;
void setup() 
{
  Serial.begin(115200);
pinMode(led_gpio, OUTPUT);
  pinMode (LED_BUILTIN, OUTPUT);
}

void loop() {
  
  if (ESP_BT.available()) //Check if we receive anything from Bluetooth
  {
    if (ESP_BT.read()== PASSWORD)
    {
    incoming = ESP_BT.read(); //Read what we recevive 
    Serial.print("Received:"); Serial.println(incoming);

    if (incoming == 48)
        {
        digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, HIGH);
        digitalWrite(led_gpio, HIGH);
        
        ESP_BT.println("LED turned ON");
        }
        
    if (incoming == 49)
        {
        digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, LOW);
        ESP_BT.println("LED turned OFF");
        digitalWrite(led_gpio, LOW); 
        }     
  }
  }
  delay(20);
}