--snip--
How can a cold wallet be compromised? I thought the only way would be for the perpetrator to physically steal the cold wallet. Am I wrong?
It depends on his cold wallet setup/usage.
For example, using USB storage to transfer unsigned and signed transaction could be exploited by specifically designed malware.
What would be the safest and most secure setup for a cold wallet? I am now unsure how to transfer from cold wallet to an online address without compromising security.
Would it be possible to transfer BTC from cold wallet to another cold wallet and then send from that secondary cold wallet to an online address? That way my original cold wallet isn't connecting to the internet or being directly exposed?