Are there any specific security measures that should be implemented when handling user data in PHP databases?

When handling user data in PHP databases, it is crucial to implement security measures to protect sensitive information. One common security measure is to use prepared statements to prevent SQL injection attacks. Additionally, it is important to sanitize user inputs to prevent cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks. Encrypting sensitive data before storing it in the database can also enhance security. 

// Example of using prepared statements to prevent SQL injection
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = :username AND password = :password");
$stmt->bindParam(':username', $username);
$stmt->bindParam(':password', $password);
$stmt->execute();

// Example of sanitizing user input to prevent XSS attacks
$username = htmlspecialchars($_POST['username']);
$password = htmlspecialchars($_POST['password']);

// Example of encrypting sensitive data before storing in the database
$encryptedPassword = password_hash($password, PASSWORD_DEFAULT);

Keywords

SQL injection prepared statements password hashing encryption cross-site scripting

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