Leading Financial Companies Manage Online Communications With Tumbleweed Solutions

Tumbleweed MMS ensures financial enterprises meet regulatory guidelines

REDWOOD CITY, CA - December 18, 2000 - Tumbleweed® Communications Corp. (Nasdaq:TMWD), a leading provider of secure Internet communications services, today announced that Columbia Management Company, ING Variable Annuities, Merrill Lynch, and UBS Warburg are using Tumbleweed Messaging Management System (MMS)™ to secure, monitor and manage the email communication stream between their employees, partners and customers on the Internet.

Over 90 financial service companies use Tumbleweed MMS, a set of email management products that enable companies to protect sensitive business data on the Internet and comply with SEC regulations governing email retention. MMS also includes Messaging Monitor, a product financial enterprises can use to retain and review email as well as to maintain long term archives. MMS can set and implement policies for Internet email by applying content control, encryption, access control, attachment management, virus scanning and digital signature policies that are administered centrally and enforced universally across an enterprise.

"Tumbleweed MMS offers ING VA a comprehensive messaging management solution that makes Internet email a secure, reliable channel for communicating with our customers and business partners," said Joel McMillan, Manager of Imaging Technologies, ING Variable Annuities. "We can centrally create policies to manage and control the flow of online communications - so we can maintain compliance with SEC regulations governing client communication - without requiring our end-users to change their software or business practices."

"At Columbia Management Company we desired a complete online management solution to assist with SEC compliance regulations surrounding Internet communication, and we saw an opportunity to strengthen ties with our customers and partners via the Internet," said Bill Hulsman, Director of IT Operations, Columbia Management Company. "We needed a solution for managing our email communications stream now and as it grows. With Tumbleweed MMS we can centrally define and enforce compliance with our own policies for Internet email usage, without taxing either our end users or our vital IT resources."

"Each of our financial services customers has built a sophisticated communications network with its customers, business partners and suppliers. Every day, these customers use their networks to transmit important business information through email messages, which must be archived. In fact, we archive over a million messages a day for our largest customers," said Jeffrey C. Smith, President and CEO, Tumbleweed Communications Corp. "Our financial service customers apply MMS as a comprehensive solution to centrally manage and monitor communications, to implement security policies, and to protect their information assets traveling over the Internet."

About Tumbleweed Communications Corp.
Tumbleweed is a leading provider of solutions for managing secure communication and collaboration to enable the business Internet. Tumbleweed's robust policy-based framework empowers organizations to safely share and protect critical information, increase customer loyalty and privacy and dramatically reduce costs. Tumbleweed is trusted by 1,000 blue-chip customers including American Express, Chevron, Datek Online, the European Union's Joint Research Council, First Union Wachovia, John Deere, Merrill Lynch, Nike, Northern Trust, NTT, Salomon Smith Barney, Travelers and US Food and Drug Administration. One hundred of the Fortune 500 are Tumbleweed customers. Tumbleweed Communications was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., with offices around the world.

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 security features of Tumbleweed's products and the activities of any third party. 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 30, 2001 and Form 10-Q filed November 13, 2001. Tumbleweed assumes no obligation to update information contained in this press release.