"Stealing your nudes, getting your passwords, stealing your bank info... none of these things require a kernel-level driver," Chamberlain says. "All of that is possible with a regular application that you install on your computer. I don't need a kernel driver to stealthily record your webcam. I don't need a kernel driver to get your credit card info."
Hey that's me! I was being a little too cute and flippant when I said that (I forgot I was in interview mode and not talk to colleague mode) but I stand by the idea that from a regular user perspective the security difference between a kernel driver and any other piece of software is minimal!