A system for differentiating short circuiting in a battery includes: a detector coupled to the battery; a monitor in communication with the detector, the monitor including a profile of a battery shorting behavior, and a comparator for matching data from the detector to the profile; and a controller for taking action based upon information from the detector. A method for detecting short circuiting in a battery includes the steps of: detecting a behavior of the battery; comparing the behavior of the battery to a predetermined battery behavior profile; determining the type of short based on the comparison; and taking mitigating action based on the determination. The system/method may monitor: temperature of the battery, heat generation from the battery, current flow through the battery, voltage drop across the battery, and/or combinations thereof. The system/method discriminates between the various battery shorting behaviors for aggressive response or passive response.