This question is Tails-related, but maybe not even Tails-specific. If there is already an answer to this (either on this forum or elsewhere within the reach of what could have been googled), then I'd be happy to know where.
My question is this: When copying files from an encrypted drive to an unecrypted one, will any data BEYOND what was intended to be copied then remain on the unencrypted drive? I am thinking about things like directory structures, file names or any other kind of (meta-)data from the encrypted drive that was NOT intended to be copied.
I have tried to find something on this on Google, and I have done a few (amateurish) experiments using Ubuntu and the sleuthkit and I couldn't FIND any obvious evidence of leaks of this kind (and of course I would expect Tails to be safer than Ubuntu anyway!) - but I'm really far too clueless to pass any final judgement on this.
So: Sorry if this question is trivial, or misplaced on this forum, or has been answered before. Any ideas?
I don't see what additional data would be copied if you use
cp. Graphical file managers may want to do clever additional stuff (hint: thumbnails), but in the specific case you're describing, I guess Nautilus should be safe.