Methods for protecting data

Systems and methods utilized to protect data. One method includes maintaining, by one or more processing circuits in a production environment, encrypted data associated with a cryptographic function. The method further includes decrypting, by the one or more processing circuits in the production environment, the encrypted data to generate cleartext data. The method further includes encrypting, by the one or more processing circuits, the cleartext data using a homomorphic encryption function to generate ciphertext data. The method further includes masking, by the one or more processing circuits, the ciphertext data using a masking function to generate alternate ciphertext data. The method further includes decrypting, by the one or more processing circuits, the alternate ciphertext data to generate masked cleartext data and storing, by the one or more processing circuits in a lower environment, the masked cleartext data.