Are there any security concerns to be aware of when working with database files in PHP, especially when handling sensitive data?

When working with database files in PHP, especially when handling sensitive data, it is important to be aware of security concerns such as SQL injection attacks. To prevent SQL injection, always use prepared statements with parameterized queries to sanitize user input before executing SQL queries.

// Establish a database connection
$servername = "localhost";
$username = "username";
$password = "password";
$dbname = "database";

$conn = new mysqli($servername, $username, $password, $dbname);

// Prepare a SQL statement using parameterized queries
$stmt = $conn->prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = ?");
$stmt->bind_param("s", $username);

// Sanitize user input
$username = mysqli_real_escape_string($conn, $_POST['username']);

// Execute the prepared statement
$stmt->execute();

// Process the results
$result = $stmt->get_result();
while ($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) {
    // Handle the fetched data
}

// Close the statement and connection
$stmt->close();
$conn->close();