How can the use of password_hash() and password_verify() functions improve the security of user authentication in PHP applications?

Issue: Storing plain text passwords in databases poses a security risk as they can be easily compromised if the database is breached. Using password_hash() and password_verify() functions in PHP can improve security by securely hashing passwords before storing them and verifying hashed passwords during authentication. PHP Code Snippet: 

// Hashing the password before storing it in the database
$password = "secret_password";
$hashed_password = password_hash($password, PASSWORD_DEFAULT);

// Storing $hashed_password in the database

// Verifying the password during authentication
$entered_password = "user_input_password";

if (password_verify($entered_password, $hashed_password)) {
    // Password is correct
    echo "Authentication successful";
} else {
    // Password is incorrect
    echo "Authentication failed";
}

Keywords

password_hash password_verify user authentication security PHP applications

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