diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 3ce1c42..21246ee 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@
         <dependency>
             <groupId>com.google.protobuf</groupId>
             <artifactId>protobuf-java</artifactId>
-            <version>3.4.0</version>
+            <version>3.16.3</version>
         </dependency>
         <!-- https://mvnrepository.com/artifact/uk.ac.gate/gate-core -->
         <!--<dependency>-->