Many companies take a dim view of camera phones as they see them as a security threat. While some monitor the entry of these phones into their campuses, others have banned employees from carrying these gadgets within the office. So for all those who work in such work places, iPhone's 2.0 megapixel camera feature might be a turn off.
Read more details about iResQ who as per MacNN seems to have a found an iPhone hack as a workaround to this problem.
As mentioned earlier, a lot of organizations that deal with sensitive information such as research, lawyers in courtrooms, government, military etc don't allow a camera in their premises and hence a camera phone is no exception due to security threats. So even though you might have been one of the first to get your hands on the iPhone due to its built-in camera you would have to leave your latest and coolest gadget aka iPhone at home and not be able to show it off to your colleagues.
All this can be fixed as such situations always result in an opportunity, iResQ a popular iPod repair company is offering to remove iPhone cameras for a $100 fee (which includes overnight shipping) as a relatively expensive workaround to this problem.
There's no details available on what will happen to the iPhone when you try to load the camera's software without the camera, as it seems that it would crash without a software update too. But at least you'll be able to get your iPhone past security, though with the hype surrounding the iPhone (everyone knows what an iPhone can do or cannot do) it will be a difficult task convincing your security guys that your iPhone is does not have a camera.
PS: I couldn't find the link to the page on iResQ's website where they offered this service explicitly so there is no confirmation that they indeed offer such as a service though they do offer iPhone repair services.
Sooner or later there will be someone who will provide a fix, probably a good idea for Apple to have a non-camera version for all those working in organizations that deal with sensitive information rather than going through all the hassle.
PowerbookMedic.com already offers this service for a flat $30 fee.
-Bradley
another solution is to quit your crappy tight assed job.
http://www.ipodrefresh.com can also remove your camera for an affordable price. They did mine for $20.
I just removed mine from my 3gs. it was super easy. when i go to the camera it gose to the app like it should, just the shutter dont open. i used this guied to do it:
http://www.rapidrepair.com/guides/iphone3g/iphone3grepairguide.html
my 3gs had a few mor ribbons to unhook but it was easy.
This removal of camera is useless for me in the army. I removed it and Now they wanted it certified. That's like fuck them