Improving Substation Network Security with DevSecOps and AIOps

Substation networks face growing cybersecurity threats as they adopt more connected technologies and IP-based communication protocols. However, the complex and heterogeneous nature of these operational technology (OT) environments makes manual security management inefficient and reactive. This paper proposes a framework to enhance substation network security using DevSecOps and AIOps. DevSecOps integrates security into development and operations workflows while AIOps leverages artificial intelligence to automate IT operations. Our framework implements continuous security monitoring, automated threat detection, and orchestrated response mechanisms. We developed a prototype on an emulated substation network and conducted experiments to evaluate its effectiveness. Results show the framework can automatically handle 82.4% of security alerts while reducing mean time to respond by 62.3%. The use of machine learning also enables the system to improve detection accuracy over time. This research highlights the benefits of combining AIOps and DevSecOps to build intelligent and proactive security capabilities for substation networks. Further work is needed to test the framework under diverse operating conditions.