Why are webcams built in a way, that hackers can disable the signal LED?

Why aren't webcams built in a way, where the electricity that is supposed to go into the webcam has to go through the LED as well

The problem is that the forward voltage on an LED is usually in the 2-3v range, so you're going to have a devil of a time powering a webcam off the tail end of that. Then, assuming such a thing were doable, it's as easy to desable as replacing the LED with a blob of solder.

Really, the answer isn't technical so much as legal. There's no simple way to make a circuit with an illuminated indicator such that disabling the indicator disables the entire circuit, and the existence of a "camera in use" LED is statutory, not functional. Realistically, manufacturers of devices don't actually care about the issue any more than necessary to meet the requirements of the law, and the law is never going to make them do any more than have it simply exist in some fashion. Therefore, it's going to be implemented in the cheapest implementation that affects the rest of the device's function the least.

/r/AskEngineers Thread