How Can I Securely Store and Verify User Passwords in PHP 5.5 Using password_hash() and password_verify()?

Storing Passwords Securely with PHP 5.5

When safeguarding user passwords in a database, it's crucial to employ robust encryption techniques. PHP 5.5 introduced two essential functions, password_hash() and password_verify(), designed specifically for this purpose. Let's delve into their proper usage.

Your proposed method, which involves passing a cost and a unique salt to password_hash(), is not optimal. Instead, rely on the built-in salt and cost mechanism, which securely generates these values internally. The function returns a hash that combines both the hash and the salt.

Storing the Hash and Salt:

$hashAndSalt = password_hash($password, PASSWORD_BCRYPT);

Insert $hashAndSalt into the database instead of splitting the salt and hash.

Verifying the Password:

if (password_verify($password, $hashAndSalt)) {
   // Verified
}

Retrieve $hashAndSalt from the database and directly compare it with the provided password using password_verify(). It will handle the salt comparison internally.

Additional Security Considerations:

While using these functions is a step towards secure password management, consider additional measures such as:

• Using a secure communication protocol like SSL/TLS for data in transit.
• Employing a secure database layer like MySQLi instead of the deprecated ext/mysql.
• Implementing password hashing on the server-side to prevent client-side tampering.

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