What are some best practices for securely handling password changes in PHP projects?

When handling password changes in PHP projects, it is crucial to securely hash the new password before storing it in the database. This helps protect user passwords in case of a data breach. Additionally, always use prepared statements to prevent SQL injection attacks and ensure that the password change process is done over a secure connection (HTTPS).

// Assuming $newPassword contains the new password entered by the user

// Hash the new password securely before storing it in the database
$hashedPassword = password_hash($newPassword, PASSWORD_DEFAULT);

// Use prepared statements to update the user's password in the database
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("UPDATE users SET password = :password WHERE id = :id");
$stmt->execute(['password' => $hashedPassword, 'id' => $userId]);