diff --git a/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/release/plugin/mojos/CommonsDistributionStagingMojo.java b/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/release/plugin/mojos/CommonsDistributionStagingMojo.java
index 633d3ff..4fe783e 100755
--- a/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/release/plugin/mojos/CommonsDistributionStagingMojo.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/release/plugin/mojos/CommonsDistributionStagingMojo.java
@@ -385,7 +385,7 @@
         final File signatureValidatorFileInScm = new File(distVersionRcVersionDirectory, SIGNATURE_VALIDATOR_FILE_NAME);
         final String resourceName = "/resources/" + SIGNATURE_VALIDATOR_FILE_NAME;
         // The source can be in a local file or inside a jar file.
-        try (InputStream inputStream = getClass().getResource(resourceName).openStream();
+        try (InputStream inputStream = getClass().getResourceAsStream(resourceName);
             OutputStream outputStream = new FileOutputStream(signatureValidatorFileInScm)) {
             IOUtils.copy(inputStream, outputStream);
         } catch (final Exception e) {