How can PHP developers handle security concerns when accessing a remote database server?

To handle security concerns when accessing a remote database server, PHP developers should use parameterized queries to prevent SQL injection attacks, encrypt sensitive data before sending it to the server, and ensure that the database server is properly configured with strong authentication methods.

// Example of using parameterized queries to prevent SQL injection
$pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=remote_server;dbname=database', 'username', 'password');
$stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = :username');
$stmt->bindParam(':username', $username);
$stmt->execute();
$results = $stmt->fetchAll();