What security measures should be implemented when using user input in PHP to prevent SQL injection attacks?
To prevent SQL injection attacks when using user input in PHP, it is crucial to use prepared statements with parameterized queries. This helps to separate the SQL query logic from the user input, making it impossible for malicious input to alter the SQL query structure.
// Establish a database connection
$pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=mydatabase', 'username', 'password');
// Prepare a SQL statement with a parameterized query
$stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = :username');
// Bind the user input to the prepared statement
$stmt->bindParam(':username', $_POST['username']);
// Execute the query
$stmt->execute();
// Fetch the results
$results = $stmt->fetchAll();