What are best practices for securely storing and handling user authentication data in PHP scripts?

To securely store and handle user authentication data in PHP scripts, it is recommended to use secure hashing algorithms like bcrypt to store passwords, never store passwords in plain text, use prepared statements to prevent SQL injection attacks, and consider implementing multi-factor authentication for added security. 

// Example of securely storing user password using bcrypt
$password = 'user_password';
$hashed_password = password_hash($password, PASSWORD_BCRYPT);

// Example of verifying user password using bcrypt
$entered_password = 'user_entered_password';
if (password_verify($entered_password, $hashed_password)) {
    // Password is correct
} else {
    // Password is incorrect
}

Keywords

password hashing secure storage encryption PHP password functions SQL injection

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