A computer-implemented method for protecting active copies of data may include detecting an attempt to access an active copy of original data, identifying an access rule associated with the original data, and determining whether to allow access to the active copy by applying the access rule to the attempt to access the active copy. The computer-implemented method may also include associating the access rule with a file-system path of the active copy. The access rule may be a file-system rule associated with a file-system path of the original data. Various other computer-implemented methods, systems, and computer-readable media for protecting active copies of data are also disclosed.