What are the potential pitfalls of storing sensitive data in text files without encryption in PHP?

Storing sensitive data in text files without encryption in PHP can lead to security risks such as unauthorized access to the data. To mitigate this risk, it is recommended to encrypt the sensitive data before storing it in text files. This can be achieved using encryption algorithms like AES or RSA.

// Encrypt sensitive data before storing it in a text file
$data = "Sensitive data to be encrypted";
$key = "YourEncryptionKey";

$encryptedData = openssl_encrypt($data, 'aes-256-cbc', $key, 0, 'YourInitializationVector');

file_put_contents('encrypted_data.txt', $encryptedData);