What are the potential security risks of using the PHP mail() function to send sensitive data like PDFs with secret codes?

The potential security risks of using the PHP mail() function to send sensitive data like PDFs with secret codes include the possibility of interception by malicious actors during transmission, lack of encryption for the email content, and the potential for the email to be stored insecurely on the recipient's email server. To mitigate these risks, it is recommended to use a secure method of file transfer, such as SFTP or a secure messaging service, to send sensitive data instead of using the mail() function. 

// Example of sending a PDF file with secret code securely using SFTP

$localFile = 'path/to/local/file.pdf';
$remoteFile = 'path/to/remote/file.pdf';
$secretCode = 'your_secret_code';

// Connect to SFTP server
$connection = ssh2_connect('sftp.example.com', 22);
ssh2_auth_password($connection, 'username', 'password');

// Upload the PDF file to the SFTP server
ssh2_scp_send($connection, $localFile, $remoteFile);

// Send an email with the secret code
$to = 'recipient@example.com';
$subject = 'Secret Code';
$message = 'Your secret code is: ' . $secretCode;
$headers = 'From: sender@example.com';

mail($to, $subject, $message, $headers);

Keywords

PHP mail() function security risks sensitive data PDFs

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