Fix tests for java16+add java17-ea to the test matrix and update dependencies

[TheSnoozer]

This MR includes the following items:

• Fix the tests for java 16 by passing the --illegal-access=permit into maven-surefire-plugin. This options must be configurable, since a java8 doesn't understand this flag.
• Add java17-ea to the test matrix
• update some dependencies (see commits for details)

Contributor Checklist

• Added relevant integration or unit tests to verify the changes
• Update the Readme or any other documentation (including relevant Javadoc)
• Ensured that tests pass locally: mvn clean package
• Ensured that the code meets the current checkstyle coding style definition: mvn clean verify -Pcheckstyle -Dmaven.test.skip=true -B