How can developers ensure a robust security strategy for PHP applications handling sensitive data to prevent legal repercussions in case of data breaches?

Developers can ensure a robust security strategy for PHP applications handling sensitive data by implementing encryption for data at rest and in transit, using parameterized queries to prevent SQL injection attacks, implementing proper input validation and output encoding to prevent cross-site scripting attacks, and regularly updating PHP and its dependencies to patch any security vulnerabilities. 

// Example of implementing encryption for sensitive data
$plaintext = "Sensitive data to be encrypted";
$key = "ThisIsASecretKey123";
$method = "AES-256-CBC";
$iv = openssl_random_pseudo_bytes(openssl_cipher_iv_length($method));

$encrypted = openssl_encrypt($plaintext, $method, $key, 0, $iv);
$decrypted = openssl_decrypt($encrypted, $method, $key, 0, $iv);

echo "Encrypted data: " . $encrypted . "\n";
echo "Decrypted data: " . $decrypted . "\n";

Keywords

PHP security strategy sensitive data data breaches legal repercussions

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