What best practices should be followed when handling passwords in PHP scripts to ensure data security?

When handling passwords in PHP scripts, it is crucial to follow best practices to ensure data security. This includes storing passwords securely by hashing them with a strong algorithm like bcrypt, using a unique salt for each password, and avoiding storing passwords in plain text. Additionally, always use prepared statements when interacting with a database to prevent SQL injection attacks. 

// Hashing the password using bcrypt
$password = 'password123';
$hashedPassword = password_hash($password, PASSWORD_DEFAULT);

// Verifying the hashed password
if (password_verify($password, $hashedPassword)) {
    echo 'Password is correct!';
} else {
    echo 'Password is incorrect!';
}

Keywords

password hashing password salting bcrypt password_verify secure coding practices

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