diff --git a/.github/workflows/build.yml b/.github/workflows/build.yml
index a64bc2ac..4d8cbf47 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build.yml
@@ -19,18 +19,18 @@ jobs:
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
-        scala: [ 2.11.12, 2.12.20, 2.13.16 ]
-        spark: [ 2.4.8, 3.4.4, 3.5.5 ]
+        scala: [ 2.11.12, 2.12.20, 2.13.17 ]
+        spark: [ 2.4.8, 3.4.4, 3.5.7 ]
         exclude:
           - scala: 2.11.12
             spark: 3.4.4
           - scala: 2.11.12
-            spark: 3.5.5
+            spark: 3.5.7
           - scala: 2.12.20
             spark: 2.4.8
-          - scala: 2.13.16
+          - scala: 2.13.17
             spark: 2.4.8
-          - scala: 2.13.16
+          - scala: 2.13.17
             spark: 3.4.4
     name: Spark ${{matrix.spark}} on Scala ${{matrix.scala}}
     steps:
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1399dc44..b25b0d3c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -306,8 +306,8 @@ Creating an uber jar for Cobrix is very easy. Steps to build:
     sbt -DSPARK_VERSION="3.4.4" ++2.12.20 assembly
   
     # For Scala 2.13
-    sbt -DSPARK_VERSION="3.3.4" ++2.13.16 assembly
-    sbt -DSPARK_VERSION="3.4.4" ++2.13.16 assembly
+    sbt -DSPARK_VERSION="3.3.4" ++2.13.17 assembly
+    sbt -DSPARK_VERSION="3.4.4" ++2.13.17 assembly
     ```
 
 You can collect the uber jar of `spark-cobol` either at
@@ -328,7 +328,7 @@ $ spark-shell --jars spark-cobol_2.12_3.3-2.9.3-SNAPSHOT-bundle.jar
 >   ```sh
 >   sbt ++2.11.12 assembly
 >   sbt ++2.12.20 assembly
->   sbt ++2.13.16 assembly
+>   sbt ++2.13.17 assembly
 >   ```
 
 ## Other Features
diff --git a/build.sbt b/build.sbt
index d8d1eb22..58acb8c5 100644
--- a/build.sbt
+++ b/build.sbt
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ import com.github.sbt.jacoco.report.JacocoReportSettings
 
 lazy val scala211 = "2.11.12"
 lazy val scala212 = "2.12.20"
-lazy val scala213 = "2.13.16"
+lazy val scala213 = "2.13.17"
 
 ThisBuild / organization := "za.co.absa.cobrix"
 
diff --git a/examples/spark-cobol-app/build.sbt b/examples/spark-cobol-app/build.sbt
index 86792021..c0136d59 100644
--- a/examples/spark-cobol-app/build.sbt
+++ b/examples/spark-cobol-app/build.sbt
@@ -19,9 +19,9 @@ ThisBuild / name         := "spark-cobol-app"
 ThisBuild / version      := "0.1.0-SNAPSHOT"
 ThisBuild / scalaVersion := "2.12.20"
 
-val sparkVersion = "3.5.5"
+val sparkVersion = "3.5.7"
 val sparkCobolVersion = "2.9.2"
-val scalatestVersion = "3.2.14"
+val scalatestVersion = "3.2.19"
 
 ThisBuild / libraryDependencies ++= Seq(
   "za.co.absa.cobrix" %% "spark-cobol"     % sparkCobolVersion,
diff --git a/examples/spark-cobol-app/pom.xml b/examples/spark-cobol-app/pom.xml
index 1d863e96..d8937d46 100755
--- a/examples/spark-cobol-app/pom.xml
+++ b/examples/spark-cobol-app/pom.xml
@@ -29,8 +29,8 @@
 		<encoding>UTF-8</encoding>
 		<scala.version>2.12.20</scala.version>
 		<scala.compat.version>2.12</scala.compat.version>
-		<scalatest.version>3.2.14</scalatest.version>
-		<spark.version>3.5.5</spark.version>
+		<scalatest.version>3.2.19</scalatest.version>
+		<spark.version>3.5.7</spark.version>
 		<spark.cobol.version>2.9.2</spark.cobol.version>
 	</properties>
 	
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 23b37418..d4cce28a 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -99,20 +99,16 @@
         <maven.sources.version>3.0.1</maven.sources.version>
         <maven.surefire.version>2.19.1</maven.surefire.version>
         <maven.scalatest.version>2.2.0</maven.scalatest.version>
-        <maven.release.version>2.4.2</maven.release.version>
-        <maven.scm.provider.gitexe.version>1.8.1</maven.scm.provider.gitexe.version>
         <maven.scoverage.version>1.3.0</maven.scoverage.version>
-        <maven.gpg.plugin.version>1.6</maven.gpg.plugin.version>
 
         <!-- Frameworks and libraries -->
         <scala.version>2.12.20</scala.version>
         <scala.compat.version>2.12</scala.compat.version>
-        <spark.version>3.5.6</spark.version>
+        <spark.version>3.5.7</spark.version>
         <scalatest.version>3.2.19</scalatest.version>
         <specs.version>2.4.16</specs.version>
-        <jackson.version>2.13.4</jackson.version>
+        <jackson.version>2.13.5</jackson.version>
         <mockito.version>4.11.0</mockito.version>
-        <scala_logging.version>3.7.2</scala_logging.version>
         <scodec_core.version>1.11.10</scodec_core.version>
         <slf4j.version>1.7.25</slf4j.version>
     </properties>
@@ -315,19 +311,6 @@
                     </execution>
                 </executions>
             </plugin>
-            <plugin>
-                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
-                <artifactId>maven-source-plugin</artifactId>
-                <version>${maven.sources.version}</version>
-                <executions>
-                    <execution>
-                        <id>attach-sources</id>
-                        <goals>
-                            <goal>jar-no-fork</goal>
-                        </goals>
-                    </execution>
-                </executions>
-            </plugin>
             <plugin>
                 <groupId>org.scoverage</groupId>
                 <artifactId>scoverage-maven-plugin</artifactId>
@@ -339,45 +322,6 @@
                     <excludedFiles>.*Example.*;Test.*</excludedFiles>
                 </configuration>
             </plugin>
-            <plugin>
-                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
-                <artifactId>maven-release-plugin</artifactId>
-                <version>${maven.release.version}</version>
-                <configuration>
-                    <tagNameFormat>v@{project.version}</tagNameFormat>
-                </configuration>
-                <dependencies>
-                    <dependency>
-                        <groupId>org.apache.maven.scm</groupId>
-                        <artifactId>maven-scm-provider-gitexe</artifactId>
-                        <version>${maven.scm.provider.gitexe.version}</version>
-                    </dependency>
-                </dependencies>
-            </plugin>
         </plugins>
     </build>
-
-    <profiles>
-        <profile>
-            <id>public</id>
-            <build>
-                <plugins>
-                    <plugin>
-                        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
-                        <artifactId>maven-gpg-plugin</artifactId>
-                        <version>${maven.gpg.plugin.version}</version>
-                        <executions>
-                            <execution>
-                                <id>sign-artifacts</id>
-                                <phase>verify</phase>
-                                <goals>
-                                    <goal>sign</goal>
-                                </goals>
-                            </execution>
-                        </executions>
-                    </plugin>
-                </plugins>
-            </build>
-        </profile>
-    </profiles>
 </project>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/project/Dependencies.scala b/project/Dependencies.scala
index d3c5f1f2..d48e94c6 100644
--- a/project/Dependencies.scala
+++ b/project/Dependencies.scala
@@ -20,14 +20,14 @@ object Dependencies {
   private val scodecCoreVersion = "1.11.4"
   private val antlrValue = "4.8"
   private val slf4jVersion = "1.7.25"
-  private val jacksonVersion = "2.13.0"
+  private val jacksonVersion = "2.13.5"
 
   private val scalatestVersion = "3.2.19"
   private val mockitoVersion = "4.11.0"
 
   private val defaultSparkVersionForScala211 = "2.4.8"
   private val defaultSparkVersionForScala212 = "3.4.4"
-  private val defaultSparkVersionForScala213 = "3.5.6"
+  private val defaultSparkVersionForScala213 = "3.5.7"
 
   def sparkFallbackVersion(scalaVersion: String): String = {
     if (scalaVersion.startsWith("2.11.")) {