How can PHP developers ensure the security of sensitive data, such as user passwords, stored in databases?

To ensure the security of sensitive data like user passwords stored in databases, PHP developers should hash the passwords before storing them. This means converting the password into a fixed-length string of characters using a secure hashing algorithm like bcrypt. This way, even if the database is compromised, the passwords are not easily readable.

$password = "user_password";
$hashed_password = password_hash($password, PASSWORD_DEFAULT);
// Store $hashed_password in the database