What are the best practices for handling permissions and data copying when working with external websites in PHP?

When working with external websites in PHP, it is important to handle permissions and data copying carefully to ensure security and data integrity. One best practice is to always validate and sanitize user input to prevent SQL injection and other security vulnerabilities. Additionally, use secure methods for copying data, such as using HTTPS for data transmission and storing sensitive data in encrypted form. 

// Example of validating and sanitizing user input
$userInput = $_POST['user_input'];
$validatedInput = filter_var($userInput, FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);

// Example of securely copying data using HTTPS
$externalUrl = 'https://www.externalwebsite.com/data';
$externalData = file_get_contents($externalUrl);

// Example of storing sensitive data in encrypted form
$sensitiveData = 'sensitive information';
$encryptedData = openssl_encrypt($sensitiveData, 'AES-256-CBC', 'encryption_key', 0, 'encryption_iv');

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