Example implementations may relate to a host and a storage system that communicate by a block storage protocol. For example, the host may embed host credentials in a data packet of the block storage protocol, and the data packet of host credentials may be cryptographically signed by a certificate authority trusted by a user of the host to generate a signed credential packet. The signed credential packet may be transmitted in a data path between the host and the storage system. The storage system may validate the signed credential packet using enrollment credentials and a certificate authority certificate and may authenticate the host to a logical unit.