diff --git a/core/pkg/ingress/annotations/authtls/main.go b/core/pkg/ingress/annotations/authtls/main.go
index 7db7f97c1..67c436738 100644
--- a/core/pkg/ingress/annotations/authtls/main.go
+++ b/core/pkg/ingress/annotations/authtls/main.go
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ func (a authTLS) Parse(ing *extensions.Ingress) (interface{}, error) {
 
 	_, _, err = k8s.ParseNameNS(tlsauthsecret)
 	if err != nil {
-		return &AuthSSLConfig{}, ing_errors.NewLocationDenied("an empty string is not a valid secret name")
+		return &AuthSSLConfig{}, ing_errors.NewLocationDenied("secret name must include the namespace")
 	}
 
 	tlsdepth, err := parser.GetIntAnnotation(annotationAuthTLSDepth, ing)