When working with sensitive data like passwords in PHP, what are the recommended methods for storing and retrieving this information securely?

Storing passwords securely in PHP involves hashing the password using a strong algorithm like bcrypt before storing it in the database. When retrieving the password for authentication, the input password should be hashed and compared with the hashed password in the database to verify the user. 

// Storing password securely
$hashedPassword = password_hash($password, PASSWORD_BCRYPT);

// Retrieving and verifying password
if (password_verify($inputPassword, $hashedPassword)) {
    // Passwords match, authentication successful
} else {
    // Passwords do not match, authentication failed
}

Keywords

password hashing secure storage encryption PHP crypt salting

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