diff --git a/pkg/knative/deployer.go b/pkg/knative/deployer.go
index d45d0c82d..5bb80b276 100644
--- a/pkg/knative/deployer.go
+++ b/pkg/knative/deployer.go
@@ -965,7 +965,11 @@ func checkResourcesArePresent(ctx context.Context, namespace string, referencedS
 	for s := range *referencedSecrets {
 		_, err := k8s.GetSecret(ctx, s, namespace)
 		if err != nil {
-			errMsg += fmt.Sprintf("  referenced Secret \"%s\" is not present in namespace \"%s\"\n", s, namespace)
+			if errors.IsForbidden(err) {
+				errMsg += " Ensure that the service account has the necessary permissions to access the secret.\n"
+			} else {
+				errMsg += fmt.Sprintf("  referenced Secret \"%s\" is not present in namespace \"%s\"\n", s, namespace)
+			}
 		}
 	}