Is the iSight (webcam) light operated by software or is it hard wired

With the NSA revelations, I am seeing more and more people putting tape on their MacBook iSight camera.
I would like to know if that makes sense or not.
I am wondering how the iSight light, which indicates the camera being active, is operated. Is it switched on by software? So would it be possible at all to use the camera without the light lighting up? Or is the light physically connected to the camera, something like: The camera could be attached to electricity flowing to and from the camera and would therefor necessarily be working when the camera is working.
Thanks for any help .
Cheers
Timo

I would like to know if that makes sense or not.
Not. It is "hard wired" if you prefer to think of it that way.
So would it be possible at all to use the camera without the light lighting up?
No.
Some computers (not Macs) have similar cameras with separate hardware controlling the LED, such that the camera can be powered on while the LED remains off. No Mac that Apple has ever built has the ability to do that. With Macs, LED off = camera off. The NSA can go pound sand.
Technically speaking it's called the FaceTime camera.

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    Thanks again
    Regards
    Trevor

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