diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ea2e9d4..4f03f12 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -21,10 +21,11 @@ The JPO ITS utilities repository serves as a central location for deploying open
     - [Configuration](#configuration)
     - [Configure Kafka Connector Creation](#configure-kafka-connector-creation)
     - [Quick Run](#quick-run-2)
-  - [5. Deduplicator](#5-jpo-Deduplicator)
-    - [Deduplication Configuration](#deduplication-config)
-    - [Github Token Generation](#generate-a-github-token)
+  - [5. jpo-deduplicator](#5-jpo-deduplicator)
+    - [Deduplication Config](#deduplication-config)
+    - [Generate a Github Token](#generate-a-github-token)
     - [Quick Run](#quick-run-3)
+  - [Security Notice](#security-notice)
 
 
 <a name="base-configuration"></a>
@@ -256,3 +257,12 @@ For local development the following steps are also required
    4. You should now see only one copy of the map message sent. 
 
 [Back to top](#toc)
+
+## Security Notice
+
+While default passwords are provided for development convenience, it is **strongly recommended** to:
+
+1. Change all passwords before deploying to any environment
+2. Never use default passwords in production
+3. Use secure password generation and management practices
+4. Consider using Docker secrets or environment management tools for production deployments
diff --git a/docker-compose-deduplicator.yml b/docker-compose-deduplicator.yml
index 5c315d7..c1e7410 100644
--- a/docker-compose-deduplicator.yml
+++ b/docker-compose-deduplicator.yml
@@ -7,14 +7,14 @@ services:
       context: jpo-deduplicator
       dockerfile: Dockerfile
       args:
-        MAVEN_GITHUB_TOKEN: ${MAVEN_GITHUB_TOKEN:?error}
-        MAVEN_GITHUB_ORG: ${MAVEN_GITHUB_ORG:?error}
+        MAVEN_GITHUB_TOKEN: ${MAVEN_GITHUB_TOKEN}
+        MAVEN_GITHUB_ORG: ${MAVEN_GITHUB_ORG}
     image: jpo-deduplicator:latest
     restart: ${RESTART_POLICY}
     environment:
       DOCKER_HOST_IP: ${DOCKER_HOST_IP}
-      KAFKA_BOOTSTRAP_SERVERS: ${KAFKA_BOOTSTRAP_SERVERS:?error}
-      spring.kafka.bootstrap-servers: ${KAFKA_BOOTSTRAP_SERVERS:?error}
+      KAFKA_BOOTSTRAP_SERVERS: ${KAFKA_BOOTSTRAP_SERVERS}
+      spring.kafka.bootstrap-servers: ${KAFKA_BOOTSTRAP_SERVERS}
       enableProcessedMapDeduplication: ${ENABLE_PROCESSED_MAP_DEDUPLICATION}
       enableProcessedMapWktDeduplication: ${ENABLE_PROCESSED_MAP_WKT_DEDUPLICATION}
       enableOdeMapDeduplication: ${ENABLE_ODE_MAP_DEDUPLICATION}
@@ -22,9 +22,6 @@ services:
       enableOdeRawEncodedTimDeduplication: ${ENABLE_ODE_RAW_ENCODED_TIM_DEDUPLICATION}
       enableProcessedSpatDeduplication: ${ENABLE_PROCESSED_SPAT_DEDUPLICATION}
       enableOdeBsmDeduplication: ${ENABLE_ODE_BSM_DEDUPLICATION}
-
-
-
     healthcheck:
       test: ["CMD", "java", "-version"]
       interval: 10s
diff --git a/jpo-deduplicator/Dockerfile b/jpo-deduplicator/Dockerfile
index 6228e45..2631f79 100644
--- a/jpo-deduplicator/Dockerfile
+++ b/jpo-deduplicator/Dockerfile
@@ -8,17 +8,8 @@ ARG MAVEN_GITHUB_ORG
 ENV MAVEN_GITHUB_TOKEN=$MAVEN_GITHUB_TOKEN
 ENV MAVEN_GITHUB_ORG=$MAVEN_GITHUB_ORG
 
-# COPY ./jpo-conflictmonitor/pom.xml ./jpo-conflictmonitor/
-# COPY ./settings.xml ./jpo-conflictmonitor/
-
-# # Copy and Build Conflict Monitor
-# # Download dependencies alone to cache them first
-# WORKDIR /home/jpo-conflictmonitor
-# RUN mvn -s settings.xml dependency:resolve
-
-# # Copy the source code and build the conflict monitor
-# COPY ./jpo-conflictmonitor/src ./src
-# RUN mvn -s settings.xml install -DskipTests -Ppackage-jar
+RUN test -n "$MAVEN_GITHUB_TOKEN" || (echo "Error: MAVEN_GITHUB_TOKEN cannot be empty" && exit 1)
+RUN test -n "$MAVEN_GITHUB_ORG" || (echo "Error: MAVEN_GITHUB_ORG cannot be empty" && exit 1)
 
 # Copy and Build Deduplicator
 WORKDIR /home
diff --git a/sample.env b/sample.env
index 797d2aa..a67d94f 100644
--- a/sample.env
+++ b/sample.env
@@ -62,19 +62,19 @@ MONGO_DB_NAME=CV
 
 # Generate a random string for the MongoDB keyfile using the following command:
 # $ openssl rand -base64 32
-MONGO_DB_KEYFILE_STRING=
+MONGO_DB_KEYFILE_STRING=replace_me
 
 MONGO_ADMIN_DB_USER=admin
-MONGO_ADMIN_DB_PASS=
+MONGO_ADMIN_DB_PASS=replace_me
 
 MONGO_READ_WRITE_USER=ode
-MONGO_READ_WRITE_PASS=
+MONGO_READ_WRITE_PASS=replace_me
 
 MONGO_READ_USER=user
-MONGO_READ_PASS=
+MONGO_READ_PASS=replace_me
 
 MONGO_EXPORTER_USERNAME=export
-MONGO_EXPORTER_PASSWORD=
+MONGO_EXPORTER_PASSWORD=replace_me
 
 MONGO_EXPRESS_USER=${MONGO_ADMIN_DB_USER}
 MONGO_EXPRESS_PASS=${MONGO_ADMIN_DB_PASS}