Described herein are methods, systems, and computer-readable storage media for participating in a validation process with the host computing device. Techniques include receiving, from the host computing device, a second key that is part of a cryptographic key pair comprising a first key and the second key. Techniques further include, encrypting, using the second key and as part of the validation process, data at the peripheral device and sending the encrypted data to the host computing device. Further, the host computing device validates an identity of the peripheral device based on a decryption, using the first key, of the encrypted data.