What are the potential security risks associated with sending codes via email in PHP applications?

Sending codes via email in PHP applications can pose a potential security risk if the email is intercepted or accessed by unauthorized parties. To mitigate this risk, it's recommended to encrypt the code before sending it via email. This can be achieved by using a secure encryption algorithm like AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) to ensure that the code remains confidential and secure during transmission.

// Encrypt the code before sending it via email
$code = "123456"; // Example code to be sent
$key = "secretkey"; // Encryption key
$method = "AES-256-CBC"; // Encryption method

$iv = openssl_random_pseudo_bytes(openssl_cipher_iv_length($method));
$encrypted_code = openssl_encrypt($code, $method, $key, 0, $iv);

// Send the encrypted code via email
// Code to send email with $encrypted_code