In PHP, what are the recommended methods for securely storing and accessing sensitive user data such as user IDs?

Sensitive user data such as user IDs should be securely stored and accessed in PHP to prevent unauthorized access. One recommended method is to use PHP's built-in encryption functions to encrypt the sensitive data before storing it in a database. When accessing the data, decrypt it using the same encryption key to ensure its security.

// Encrypt sensitive user data before storing it
$encryptionKey = "myEncryptionKey";
$userId = 12345;
$encryptedUserId = openssl_encrypt($userId, 'AES-256-CBC', $encryptionKey, 0, 'myInitializationVector',);

// Store the encrypted user ID in the database

// Access the encrypted user ID from the database and decrypt it
$decryptedUserId = openssl_decrypt($encryptedUserId, 'AES-256-CBC', $encryptionKey, 0, 'myInitializationVector');

// Use the decrypted user ID for further processing