What are the potential security risks of using simplistic encryption methods like base64_encode() for storing sensitive data in PHP applications?

Using simplistic encryption methods like base64_encode() for storing sensitive data in PHP applications can lead to security risks as base64 encoding is not encryption and can be easily decoded. To securely store sensitive data, it is recommended to use strong encryption algorithms like AES encryption. 

// Encrypt sensitive data using AES encryption
function encryptData($data, $key) {
    $iv = openssl_random_pseudo_bytes(openssl_cipher_iv_length('aes-256-cbc'));
    $encrypted = openssl_encrypt($data, 'aes-256-cbc', $key, 0, $iv);
    return base64_encode($iv . $encrypted);
}

// Decrypt sensitive data using AES decryption
function decryptData($data, $key) {
    $data = base64_decode($data);
    $iv = substr($data, 0, openssl_cipher_iv_length('aes-256-cbc'));
    $encrypted = substr($data, openssl_cipher_iv_length('aes-256-cbc'));
    return openssl_decrypt($encrypted, 'aes-256-cbc', $key, 0, $iv);
}

// Usage example
$key = 'your_secret_key';
$data = 'sensitive_data_to_encrypt';
$encryptedData = encryptData($data, $key);
echo 'Encrypted Data: ' . $encryptedData . PHP_EOL;
$decryptedData = decryptData($encryptedData, $key);
echo 'Decrypted Data: ' . $decryptedData . PHP_EOL;

Keywords

base64_encode encryption security risks sensitive data PHP applications

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