Why is using a standard login with username/password not sufficient for protecting user data in PHP?

Using a standard login with just a username and password is not sufficient for protecting user data in PHP because passwords are often stored in plain text or using weak hashing algorithms, making them vulnerable to security breaches. To enhance security, passwords should be securely hashed before storing them in the database. This way, even if the database is compromised, the passwords remain protected. 

// Hashing the password before storing it in the database
$password = password_hash($_POST['password'], PASSWORD_DEFAULT);
// Storing the hashed password in the database
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("INSERT INTO users (username, password) VALUES (:username, :password)");
$stmt->bindParam(':username', $_POST['username']);
$stmt->bindParam(':password', $password);
$stmt->execute();

Keywords

authentication password hashing SQL injection session hijacking cross-site scripting

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