How can a PHP developer ensure data security when passing information through URLs?

To ensure data security when passing information through URLs in PHP, developers should avoid passing sensitive information such as passwords or personal data directly in the URL. Instead, they can use encryption techniques to secure the data before passing it through the URL. Additionally, developers should validate and sanitize the data received from the URL to prevent any malicious attacks.

// Encrypt the sensitive data before passing it through the URL
$sensitiveData = "password123";
$encryptedData = base64_encode(openssl_encrypt($sensitiveData, 'AES-256-CBC', 'secretKey', 0, '16charRandomInitVector'));

// Pass the encrypted data through the URL
$url = "https://example.com/page.php?data=" . urlencode($encryptedData);

// Decrypt the data received from the URL
$receivedData = openssl_decrypt(base64_decode($_GET['data']), 'AES-256-CBC', 'secretKey', 0, '16charRandomInitVector');