Two major computer projects have apparently caused headaches for the National Security Agency, the secretive arm of the U.S. military tasked with gathering intelligence and protecting government communications, according to an investigative report published in The Baltimore Sun.

The Cryptologic Mission Management system, a program designed to help track new project, has so many problems that the agency is trying to pull the plug after spending almost $300 million, according to the Sun report. A multi-billion dollar project, codenamed Groundbreaker, that aims to update the NSA's communication infrastructure and its eavesdropping and analysis capabilities has also continued to run into problems, the paper reported. Budgeted for $2 billion, the Groundbreaker system is now estimated to cost $4 billion.

The problems are not the first issues that the NSA has had with deploying large computer systems. The agency's Trailblazer system, designed to help the government tap into digital communications, still appears to be on the drawing board despite more than $1.2 billion in project expenditures. The initiative is aimed at connecting the dots between various information sources, such as e-mail, cell phone calls and instant messages.

In January, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) filed lawsuits against the Bush Administration for conducting wiretaps of American citizens without judicial oversight. President Bush secretly authorized the NSA to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States without obtaining a warrant through a secret court system designed to allow foreign surveillance.