How can PHP be used to securely handle user authentication and authorization?

To securely handle user authentication and authorization in PHP, it is important to use secure hashing algorithms like bcrypt to store passwords, implement session management to track user authentication status, and validate user input to prevent SQL injection and other security vulnerabilities.

// Example of securely handling user authentication and authorization in PHP

// Function to hash password using bcrypt
function hashPassword($password) {
    return password_hash($password, PASSWORD_BCRYPT);
}

// Function to verify password using bcrypt
function verifyPassword($password, $hashedPassword) {
    return password_verify($password, $hashedPassword);
}

// Example usage of hashing and verifying passwords
$plainPassword = 'password123';
$hashedPassword = hashPassword($plainPassword);

if (verifyPassword($plainPassword, $hashedPassword)) {
    echo 'Password is correct';
} else {
    echo 'Password is incorrect';
}