What are some best practices for securely storing and managing member data in PHP?

Storing and managing member data securely in PHP involves using proper encryption techniques and implementing measures to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access. One best practice is to hash passwords using a strong hashing algorithm like bcrypt before storing them in the database.

// Hashing a password before storing it in the database
$password = 'user_password';
$hashed_password = password_hash($password, PASSWORD_BCRYPT);

// Verifying a password when a user logs in
$entered_password = 'user_entered_password';
if (password_verify($entered_password, $hashed_password)) {
    // Password is correct
} else {
    // Password is incorrect
}