Mind the Human! Between Infrastructure and Understanding

Based on a study of the Faroe Islands, this policy brief makes a simple claim:
digital resilience cannot be achieved through technology alone. Citizens must be
digitally competent, critically aware, and infrastructure-literate if society is to
remain secure and resilient. It calls for action to embed digital infrastructure
literacy across society. While Faroese strategic policy goals for digital resilience
and cybersecurity include human capability, the implementation has so far
focused on technical systems and infrastructure. Drawing on insights from
Faroese educators, civil servants, and government officials, this study finds that
while strategies exist on paper, the Faroe Islands are not adequately preparing
citizens with the digital infrastructure literacy required for a resilient society in the
21 century. Drawing on 'data infrastructure literacy' [1] and the 'capabilities
approach' [2], this paper argues that human knowledge and skills amplify the
effectiveness of technical measures and promote sustainable digital security. The
Faroese case shows that while national strategies may acknowledge the
importance of bridging the gap between complex digital infrastructure and
limited human capabilities, translating this recognition into systematic action
remains a major challenge.