July 23rd, 2023
Welcome back to our SQL blog series! In the last post, we covered how to delete data from a table using the DELETE command. In this post, we will cover how to use prepared statements in SQL to help prevent SQL injection attacks.
SQL Injection Attacks
SQL injection is a common attack where an attacker exploits vulnerabilities in your application to inject malicious SQL code into your database. This code can modify or delete data, or even take control of your database. To prevent SQL injection attacks, you should always use prepared statements when executing SQL queries.
Prepared Statements
A prepared statement is a pre-compiled SQL statement that can be executed multiple times with different parameters. It separates the SQL code from the parameters, making it harder for an attacker to inject malicious code.
Here's an example of using a prepared statement in PHP:
$stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT * FROM mytable WHERE name = :name');
$stmt->execute(['name' => $name]);
$rows = $stmt->fetchAll();
In this example, we use the prepare() method to create a prepared statement that selects all rows from the "mytable" table where the "name" column matches the "name" parameter. We then use the execute() method to execute the prepared statement with the "name" parameter. Finally, we use the fetchAll() method to retrieve all rows returned by the query.
By using prepared statements, we can prevent attackers from injecting malicious SQL code into our query.
Conclusion
In this post, we covered how to use prepared statements in SQL to help prevent SQL injection attacks. Prepared statements are an essential tool in securing your database and preventing attacks. In the next post, we will cover how to connect to a MySQL database using PHP. Stay tuned!