diff --git a/aem-classification-validator/pom.xml b/aem-classification-validator/pom.xml
index 8edca2b..e6947d3 100644
--- a/aem-classification-validator/pom.xml
+++ b/aem-classification-validator/pom.xml
@@ -40,11 +40,6 @@
             <artifactId>commons-csv</artifactId>
             <version>1.12.0</version>
         </dependency>
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>commons-io</groupId>
-            <artifactId>commons-io</artifactId>
-            <version>2.17.0</version>
-        </dependency>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
             <artifactId>slf4j-api</artifactId>
diff --git a/aem-classification-validator/src/main/java/biz/netcentric/filevault/validator/aem/classification/AemClassificationValidator.java b/aem-classification-validator/src/main/java/biz/netcentric/filevault/validator/aem/classification/AemClassificationValidator.java
index 03287c3..2372aa9 100644
--- a/aem-classification-validator/src/main/java/biz/netcentric/filevault/validator/aem/classification/AemClassificationValidator.java
+++ b/aem-classification-validator/src/main/java/biz/netcentric/filevault/validator/aem/classification/AemClassificationValidator.java
@@ -30,7 +30,6 @@
 import java.util.regex.Pattern;
 import java.util.stream.Collectors;
 
-import org.apache.commons.lang3.StringUtils;
 import org.apache.jackrabbit.spi.commons.name.NameFactoryImpl;
 import org.apache.jackrabbit.vault.util.DocViewNode;
 import org.apache.jackrabbit.vault.validation.spi.DocumentViewXmlValidator;
@@ -230,7 +229,7 @@ private static boolean isJspFile(Path file) {
     }
 
     static @NotNull String extendMessageWithRemark(@NotNull String message, String remark) {
-        if (StringUtils.isNotBlank(remark)) {
+        if (remark != null && !remark.isEmpty()) {
             return message + " Remark: " + remark;
         }
         return message;
diff --git a/aem-classification-validator/src/main/java/biz/netcentric/filevault/validator/aem/classification/AemClassificationValidatorFactory.java b/aem-classification-validator/src/main/java/biz/netcentric/filevault/validator/aem/classification/AemClassificationValidatorFactory.java
index a40b207..3000017 100644
--- a/aem-classification-validator/src/main/java/biz/netcentric/filevault/validator/aem/classification/AemClassificationValidatorFactory.java
+++ b/aem-classification-validator/src/main/java/biz/netcentric/filevault/validator/aem/classification/AemClassificationValidatorFactory.java
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@
 import java.util.regex.Pattern;
 import java.util.stream.Collectors;
 
-import org.apache.commons.lang3.StringUtils;
 import org.apache.jackrabbit.vault.validation.spi.ValidationContext;
 import org.apache.jackrabbit.vault.validation.spi.ValidationMessageSeverity;
 import org.apache.jackrabbit.vault.validation.spi.Validator;
@@ -61,7 +60,7 @@ public class AemClassificationValidatorFactory implements ValidatorFactory {
     public Validator createValidator(@NotNull ValidationContext context, @NotNull ValidatorSettings settings) {
         String mapUrls = settings.getOptions().get(OPTION_MAPS);
         // either load map from classpath, from filesystem or from generic url
-        if (StringUtils.isBlank(mapUrls)) {
+        if (mapUrls == null || mapUrls.isEmpty()) {
             throw new IllegalArgumentException("Mandatory option " + OPTION_MAPS + " missing!");
         }
         String optionWhitelistedResourcePaths = null;
@@ -125,7 +124,7 @@ static Map<ContentClassification, ValidationMessageSeverity> getSeverityPerClass
     private static Map<ContentClassification, ValidationMessageSeverity> parseSeverityClassification(List<String> severities) {
         Map<ContentClassification, ValidationMessageSeverity> result = severities.stream()
                 .map(severity -> severity.split("="))
-                .filter(arr -> arr.length == 2 && !StringUtils.isEmpty(arr[0]) && !StringUtils.isEmpty(arr[1]))
+                .filter(arr -> arr.length == 2 && !arr[0].isEmpty() && !arr[1].isEmpty())
                 .collect(Collectors.toMap(s -> ContentClassification.valueOf(s[0].trim()),
                         s -> ValidationMessageSeverity.valueOf(s[1].trim())));
 
diff --git a/aem-classification-validator/src/main/java/biz/netcentric/filevault/validator/aem/classification/MutableContentClassificationMap.java b/aem-classification-validator/src/main/java/biz/netcentric/filevault/validator/aem/classification/MutableContentClassificationMap.java
index ad15efe..7910c34 100644
--- a/aem-classification-validator/src/main/java/biz/netcentric/filevault/validator/aem/classification/MutableContentClassificationMap.java
+++ b/aem-classification-validator/src/main/java/biz/netcentric/filevault/validator/aem/classification/MutableContentClassificationMap.java
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ public interface MutableContentClassificationMap extends ContentClassificationMa
 
     /**
      * Writes the map to a given output stream.
-     * Leaves the output stream open.
+     * Closes the stream upon completion.
      * 
      * @param outputStream the stream to write to
      * @throws IOException in case of any exception during writing
diff --git a/aem-classification-validator/src/main/java/biz/netcentric/filevault/validator/aem/classification/map/ContentClassificationMapImpl.java b/aem-classification-validator/src/main/java/biz/netcentric/filevault/validator/aem/classification/map/ContentClassificationMapImpl.java
index 9a65522..f803fa1 100644
--- a/aem-classification-validator/src/main/java/biz/netcentric/filevault/validator/aem/classification/map/ContentClassificationMapImpl.java
+++ b/aem-classification-validator/src/main/java/biz/netcentric/filevault/validator/aem/classification/map/ContentClassificationMapImpl.java
@@ -108,8 +108,8 @@ protected void put(@NotNull String resourcePath, @NotNull ContentClassification
     @Override
     @NotNull
     public Entry<ContentClassification, String> getContentClassificationAndRemarkForResourcePath(@NotNull String resourcePath, @Nullable Collection<Pattern> whitelistedResourcePaths) {
-        // ignore empty resourceTypes
-        if (resourcePath == null || resourcePath.isEmpty()) {
+        // ignore empty resourceTypes {
+        if (resourcePath.isEmpty()) {
             return new SimpleEntry<>(ContentClassification.PUBLIC, null);
         }
         
diff --git a/aem-classification-validator/src/main/java/biz/netcentric/filevault/validator/aem/classification/map/MutableContentClassificationMapImpl.java b/aem-classification-validator/src/main/java/biz/netcentric/filevault/validator/aem/classification/map/MutableContentClassificationMapImpl.java
index 8f735ff..882b5d6 100644
--- a/aem-classification-validator/src/main/java/biz/netcentric/filevault/validator/aem/classification/map/MutableContentClassificationMapImpl.java
+++ b/aem-classification-validator/src/main/java/biz/netcentric/filevault/validator/aem/classification/map/MutableContentClassificationMapImpl.java
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@
 import java.util.Map.Entry;
 
 import org.apache.commons.csv.CSVPrinter;
-import org.apache.commons.io.output.CloseShieldOutputStream;
 import org.jetbrains.annotations.NotNull;
 import org.jetbrains.annotations.Nullable;
 
@@ -45,7 +44,7 @@ public void put(@NotNull String resourcePath, @NotNull ContentClassification cla
 
     @Override
     public void write(@NotNull OutputStream output) throws IOException {
-        try (CSVPrinter csvPrinter = new CSVPrinter(new OutputStreamWriter(new CloseShieldOutputStream(output), StandardCharsets.US_ASCII), CSV_FORMAT)) {
+        try (CSVPrinter csvPrinter = new CSVPrinter(new OutputStreamWriter(output, StandardCharsets.US_ASCII), CSV_FORMAT)) {
             csvPrinter.printComment(getLabel());
             for (Entry<String, ContentClassification> entry : classificationMap.entrySet()) {
                 Collection<String> values = new LinkedList<>();