What are the potential security risks of storing passwords in clear text in a database in PHP?

Storing passwords in clear text in a database in PHP poses a significant security risk as anyone with access to the database can easily view and misuse the passwords. To mitigate this risk, passwords should be securely hashed before storing them in the database. This way, even if the database is compromised, the actual passwords remain protected. 

// Hashing the password before storing it in the database
$password = "password123";
$hashed_password = password_hash($password, PASSWORD_DEFAULT);

// Storing the hashed password in the database
$query = "INSERT INTO users (username, password) VALUES ('john_doe', '$hashed_password')";
// Execute the query

Keywords

security risks storing passwords clear text database PHP

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