Mutual authentication for host controller and battery

An electronic device, comprising:

• a host controller;
• and
• a battery subsystem including a battery controller and a plurality of battery cells, wherein the battery controller is configured to:
• generate a battery-side authentication challenge, and transmit the battery-side authentication challenge to the host controller;
• receive a host-side authentication challenge from the host controller;
• sign the host-side authentication challenge with a private encryption key of the battery controller to generate a battery-side message digest;
• transmit the battery-side message digest and a public encryption key of the battery controller to the host controller as a battery-side signature pair;
• receive a host-side signature pair from the host controller;
• and
• based at least in part on the host-side signature pair, output a battery-side validation result that specifies a battery-side validity state for the host controller.

A method for mutual authentication between a host controller and a battery subsystem of an electronic device, the method comprising:

• at the host controller, generating a host-side authentication challenge, and transmitting the host-side authentication challenge to a battery controller of the battery subsystem;
• receiving a battery-side authentication challenge from the battery controller;
• signing the battery-side authentication challenge with a private encryption key of the host controller to generate a host-side message digest;
• transmitting the host-side message digest and a public encryption key of the host controller to the battery controller as a host-side signature pair;
• receiving a battery-side signature pair from the battery controller;
• and
• based at least in part on the battery-side signature pair, outputting a host-side validation result that specifies a host-side validity state for the battery controller.