This has been the case for quite some time (10 years or so). I've torn apart two Macbooks to specifically test this and the LED is enabled when the camera receives power. It's impossible to disable with software.
You can modify the Macbook of course, which is why the paranoid type will still use tape.
Some attacks I've seen will take a photo with the camera as fast as possible so you might not notice, but the light will always turn on.
Oh absolutely, but if I were targeting Zuckerberg this would now be a camera he carries with him and almost always has an available network connection (If I were a billionaire I'd be switching devices near constantly to stave off attacks). You could be carrying around the bug for at least a year if not more.
Your average blackmailer would be better off with the separate camera route (and likely wouldn't be sophisticated enough otherwise) but a state-sponsored attack could probably pull it off.
Not really - there are lots of times when you will not be present with your laptop (think airport security).
It's orders of magnitude easier to get access to a mobile device than to setup a camera in every possible location a target might move to. But they'll helpfully carry the device with them.
You can modify the Macbook of course, which is why the paranoid type will still use tape.
Some attacks I've seen will take a photo with the camera as fast as possible so you might not notice, but the light will always turn on.