diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 926445422..9f6d77071 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -26,7 +26,10 @@ gcs_credentials.json
 transfers/data/assets*
 transfers/transfer*.log
 transfer*.log
+transfers/data/nma_csv_cache/*
+!transfers/data/nma_csv_cache/.gitkeep
 tests/features/*.feature
 
+
 # deployment files
 app.yaml
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/core/permissions.py b/core/permissions.py
index b3f62b714..99cf0d6bb 100644
--- a/core/permissions.py
+++ b/core/permissions.py
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ def _authenicated(
         If `optional` is True, it should allow unauthenticated access.
         """
 
-        if int(os.environ.get("AUTHENTIK_DISABLE_AUTHENTICATION", 1)):
+        if int(os.environ.get("AUTHENTIK_DISABLE_AUTHENTICATION", 0)):
             if settings.mode == "production":
                 raise HTTPException(
                     status_code=status.HTTP_424_FAILED_DEPENDENCY,
diff --git a/tests/__init__.py b/tests/__init__.py
index e538b996a..c6814a907 100644
--- a/tests/__init__.py
+++ b/tests/__init__.py
@@ -13,21 +13,21 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 # ===============================================================================
-import os
-
 # Load .env file BEFORE importing anything else
 # Use override=True to override conflicting shell environment variables
 from dotenv import load_dotenv
 
 load_dotenv(override=True)
 
-# Set timezone to UTC for consistent datetime handling in tests
-os.environ["TZ"] = "UTC"
+# this should not be needed since all Pydantic serializes all datetimes as UTC
+# furthermore, tzset is not supported on Windows, so this breaks cross-platform compatibility
+# # Set timezone to UTC for consistent datetime handling in tests
+# os.environ["TZ"] = "UTC"
 
-# Also set time.tzset() to apply the timezone change
-import time
+# # Also set time.tzset() to apply the timezone change
+# import time
 
-time.tzset()
+# time.tzset()
 
 from transfers.transfer import erase_and_initalize
 from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
diff --git a/transfers/data/nma_csv_cache/.gitkeep b/transfers/data/nma_csv_cache/.gitkeep
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e69de29bb