Are there any best practices or guidelines for securely storing and handling sensitive information in a PHP database?

Sensitive information in a PHP database should be securely stored and handled to prevent unauthorized access. Best practices include using parameterized queries to prevent SQL injection, hashing passwords before storing them, encrypting sensitive data before storage, and using secure connections (HTTPS) to transmit data.

// Example of securely storing a password in a PHP database using password_hash()

// Password to be stored securely
$password = "secretPassword123";

// Hash the password before storing it
$hashedPassword = password_hash($password, PASSWORD_DEFAULT);

// Store the hashed password in the database
// $hashedPassword can now be safely stored in the database