What best practices should be followed when handling user authentication and access control in PHP applications?

When handling user authentication and access control in PHP applications, it is important to follow best practices to ensure the security of user data and prevent unauthorized access. This includes using secure password hashing algorithms, implementing CSRF protection, validating user input, and using prepared statements to prevent SQL injection attacks. 

// Example of secure password hashing using PHP's password_hash function
$password = "secret_password";
$hashed_password = password_hash($password, PASSWORD_DEFAULT);

// Example of verifying a password using PHP's password_verify function
$entered_password = "secret_password";
if (password_verify($entered_password, $hashed_password)) {
    // Password is correct
} else {
    // Password is incorrect
}

Keywords

password hashing session management CSRF protection role-based access control secure coding practices

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