The Department of Defense reminded contractors that they have until Oct. 23 to certify they are not using the technologies of five Chinese providers suspected of hacking into sensitive government files. The companies are Huawei, ZTE Corp., Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua Technology. The reminder warned contractors that if they don’t meet the deadline, they run the risk of being “disapproved” by DOD — meaning they could immediately be dropped as a contractor as soon as Oct. 24. ATA Government Freight Conference Executive Director Bill Wanamaker emphasized trucking companies should seek the advice of their legal counsel when making decisions about this provision.