What are the best practices for securely updating and accessing sensitive information, such as database credentials, in PHP scripts?

To securely update and access sensitive information, such as database credentials, in PHP scripts, it is recommended to store these credentials in a separate configuration file outside of the web root directory. This prevents direct access to the credentials via the browser. Additionally, using environment variables or a secure key management system can further enhance security by keeping sensitive information out of the codebase. 

<?php
// config.php
define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');
define('DB_USER', 'username');
define('DB_PASS', 'password');
define('DB_NAME', 'database_name');
?>
```

```php
<?php
// index.php
require_once 'config.php';

$connection = new mysqli(DB_HOST, DB_USER, DB_PASS, DB_NAME);

if ($connection->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $connection->connect_error);
} else {
    echo "Connected successfully";
}
?>

Keywords

security encryption environment variables password hashing SQL injection

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