TMWD Tumbleweed Communications Corp (MM)

Tumbleweed(R) Communications Corp. (NASDAQ:TMWD), a leading provider of email security, file transfer security, and identity validation software and appliances, announced today that First Tech Credit Union, a financial institution serving over 130,000 members in the Pacific Northwest, has rolled out the Tumbleweed MailGate Email Firewall(TM) with Secure Messenger(TM) to protect against inbound email borne threats and to secure outgoing messages. For credit unions, banks, and other financial institutions, safeguarding the personal information of their customers is a primary concern, and presents unique technological challenges. Additionally, meeting regulatory compliance requirements such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), make doing business online even more complex. First Tech Credit Union was one of the first financial institutions in the world to develop an online banking platform, and First Tech currently has more than 130,000 credit union members in the Pacific Northwest. As with many of today's financial institutions, First Tech Credit Union manages sizeable volumes of sensitive emails for its customers and partners on a daily basis. Because email is a strategic aspect of First Tech's customer communications, addressing the concerns regarding transmitting sensitive customer information via email is a top priority. First Tech Credit Union has always proactively addressed email security issues by controlling their incoming email to protect against possible threats and potential liability from email-based attacks. To meet the rapidly increasing volume of email threats, First Tech Credit Union implemented the Tumbleweed MailGate Email Firewall with Secure Messenger to protect against inbound email borne threats, secure outbound email messages and to meet regulatory compliance requirements. MailGate Email Firewall processes more than 240,000 emails per month for First Tech Credit Union email users, quarantining up to 140,000 messages as threatening, as it protects against inbound malicious traffic. The MailGate Secure Messenger module provides secure outbound email transmission of more than 4,300 emails per month, encrypting and routing sensitive customer information and ensuring regulatory compliance. "I provided several MailGate product suggestions that I shared at a Tumbleweed user group. Most of them were implemented into future releases of the product, and it just keeps getting better and better," said Brad Beals, Information Security Engineer of First Tech Credit Union. "MailGate Email Firewall with Secure Messenger provides us with a highly scalable system that protects, filters, and secures our email traffic, ensuring our customers a safe and highly efficient method of communication. "With the recent breaches in data privacy, hacking and data loss, protecting and securing online customer data has become a critical requirement for financial institutions," said Joe Fisher, VP of Marketing at Tumbleweed. "Like Tumbleweed, First Tech Credit Union has been an industry innovator and we're very pleased that our technology helps them create a secure, reliable network for communicating over the Internet." About First Tech Credit Union Founded in 1952 by seven Tektronix employees, First Tech has grown with the innovative industry it serves. One of the first financial institutions in the world to develop an online banking platform, First Tech has always worked hard to stay ahead of the innovative curve. Today, First Tech serves over 130,000 members including professionals in the high tech and telecom industries, state of Oregon employees and those living or working in Lane County, Oregon. About Tumbleweed Tumbleweed provides security software and appliances for email protection, file transfers, and identity validation that allow organizations to safely conduct business over the Internet. Tumbleweed offers these products in three comprehensive suites: MailGate, SecureTransport, and Validation Authority. MailGate provides protection against spam, viruses, and attacks, and enables policy-based message filtering, encryption, and routing. SecureTransport enables businesses to safely exchange large files and transactions without proprietary software. Validation Authority is the world-leading solution for determining the validity of digital certificates. Tumbleweed's enterprise and government customers include ABN Amro, Bank of America Securities, Catholic Healthcare West, JP Morgan Chase & Co., The Regence Group (Blue Cross/Blue Shield), St. Luke's Episcopal Healthcare System, the US Food and Drug Administration, the US Department of Defense, and all four branches of the US Armed Forces. Tumbleweed was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Redwood City, Calif. For additional information about Tumbleweed go to www.tumbleweed.com or call 650-216-2000. SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT Tumbleweed cautions that forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on plans and expectations as of the date of the press release, and that a number of factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from the guidance given at this time. These factors are described in the Safe Harbor statement below. Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, particularly with respect to the functionality and performance of Tumbleweed's email products. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "potential," "continue," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," and similar expressions. For further cautions about the risks of investing in Tumbleweed, we refer you to the documents Tumbleweed files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly Tumbleweed's Form 10-K filed March 16, 2005 and Form 10-Q filed August 9, 2005. Tumbleweed assumes no obligation to update information contained in this press release, which represents the Company's expectations only as of the date of this release and should not be viewed as a statement about the Company's expectations after such date. Although this release may remain available on the Company's website or elsewhere, its continued availability does not indicate that the Company is reaffirming or confirming any of the information contained herein.