How can you prevent SQL injection attacks?

Using parameterized queries or stored procedures is an effective strategy for preventing SQL injection attacks. When you utilize these methods, user input is treated as data rather than executable SQL code. This means that any attempt by a malicious user to inject SQL commands through input fields would be neutralized because the application would not execute this input as part of the SQL command but rather as a parameter.

Parameterized queries define the structure of the SQL command first and then bind user inputs to parameters. These parameters are automatically handled by the database engine, which ensures that they cannot interfere with the SQL code structure. Stored procedures provide a similar layer of abstraction by allowing pre-defined SQL commands to be executed with specific parameters, reducing the risk of injection.

While validating user input against a whitelist can help minimize the risk of injection attacks by ensuring only acceptable data is processed, it doesn't enforce the separation of data and command. Raw SQL queries can be highly vulnerable to injection attacks, especially if user inputs are directly concatenated into queries. Increasing database encryption is related to securing data at rest and during transmission but does not inherently protect against SQL injection.