MacBook Pro camera and microphone used by malware? Given the increasing number of reports about malware for Apple computers, I am concerned by the fact that there's no simple way to physically block the camera while I'm using my MacBook Pro.

Is it possible an OSX virus or maybe an exploit in Flash could be used to activate the camera, without turning on the green recording light at the top center? Or is this impossible due to the hardware of MBP?

A related question arises concerning the microphone, could it be used by malware to secretly record conversations around the computer? If so, what are the best ways of preventing this?
I'm fairly certain the green light is hard-wired to the camera, there's no way to activate the camera without activating the light, precisely for privacy reasons. If you're really concerned about it, you can always just use a piece of electrical tape to cover the camera (or fold a piece of cardboard over the top of the lid for a non-sticky solution).

Frankly I wouldn't worry too much about the risk of malware. That particular piece of malware (MacDefender) was contained fairly quickly by Apple, it's very unlikely that you could be infected by it now, unless you maintain an unpatched system. There have been a few OS X security issues lately (such as Flashback), and they get a lot of press, but the actual amount of harmful software out there for a Mac is extremely low.

My advice is to keep your system up to date and avoid downloading files from questionable sources. But other than that, don't worry too much, unless you have a highly sensitive job (in which case there should be other people whose job it is to worry about it).