In an approach, a target computing device receives a pairing request from a controller computing device, the pairing request including controller credentials that were previously received by the controller computing device from an authentication server computer and encrypted under a service key. The target computing device forwards the pairing request to the authentication server, the authentication server computer being configured to return a pairing response based at least in part on the controller credentials. The target computing device receives the pairing which includes a shared secret encrypted under a target device key and the same shared secret encrypted under a controller key. The target computing device decrypts the shared secret encrypted under the target device key and forwards the shared secret encrypted under the controller key to the controller device. Using the decrypted shared secret, the target computing device establishes a secure connection to the controller computing device.