Luhn algorithm: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 07:26, 17 October 2018

Revision as of 07:26, 17 October 2018

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The '''Luhn algorithm''' or '''Luhn formula''', also known as the "[[modular arithmetic|modulus]] 10" or "mod 10" [[algorithm]], is a simple [[checksum]] formula used to validate a variety of identification numbers, such as [[credit card number]]s, [[IMEI|IMEI number]]s, [[National Provider Identifier|National Provider Identifier numbers]] in the United States, [[Canada|Canadian]] [[Social Insurance Number]]s, Israel ID Numbers and [[Greece|Greek]] Social Security Numbers (ΑΜΚΑ). It was created by [[IBM]] scientist [[Hans Peter Luhn]] and described in [http://www.google.com/patents?id=Y7leAAAAEBAJ U.S. Patent No. 2,950,048], filed on January 6, 1954, and granted on August 23, 1960.

The algorithm is in the [[public ___domain]] and is in wide use today. It is specified in [[ISO/IEC 7812]]-1.<ref>[http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=39698 ISO/IEC 7812-1:2006 Identification cards -- Identification of issuers -- Part 1: Numbering system]</ref> It is not intended to be a [[cryptographic hash function|cryptographically secure hash function]]; it was designed to protect against accidental errors, not malicious attacks. Most credit cards and many government identification numbers use the algorithm as a simple method of distinguishing valid numbers from mistyped or otherwise incorrect numbers.

==Description==