The U.S. Department of Commerce has announced that it will ban the export of hacking tools to authoritarian governments in an effort to curb violations of human rights and other malicious cyber activities. The rule, first reported by The Washington Post and later confirmed by the Commerce Department, will effectively ban the export or resale of hacking software and equipment to China, Russia and other countries of concern, for national security reasons, without a license from the department`s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). Software intended for cyber defense purposes, on the other hand, is exempt from needing an export…