A privileged account that is unknown is an account that has been forgotten and lost in the system. Virtually all organizations have some unknown accounts and some have thousands. Accounts become unknown for many reasons: An employee leaves and the account is simply abandoned. The account is utilized less and less until it becomes obsolete and forgotten. Default accounts for new devices are not utilized. Every unknown account increases your vulnerability and presents an opportunity for an intrusion. Here are a few things that could happen: An employee finds the account and uses it to perform unauthorized tasks. An ex-employee continues to access the account. A hacker finds the account and penetrates your organization, steals information, and wreaks untold havoc.