What are the potential security risks of using IP addresses as a means of limiting key distribution in PHP scripts?

Using IP addresses as a means of limiting key distribution in PHP scripts can be risky because IP addresses can be easily spoofed or changed by attackers. This means that an attacker could potentially bypass the IP address restriction and gain access to the key. To mitigate this risk, it is recommended to use additional authentication methods, such as API tokens or HMAC signatures, in combination with IP address restrictions.

// Example of using API tokens in combination with IP address restriction

$allowed_ips = ['192.168.1.1', '10.0.0.1'];
$api_token = 'your_api_token_here';

if (in_array($_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'], $allowed_ips) && $_GET['token'] === $api_token) {
    // Key distribution logic here
} else {
    // Unauthorized access
    http_response_code(403);
    echo 'Forbidden';
}