The End of Central Directory (EOCD) is a critical data structure found at the end of ZIP archive files. It marks the logical conclusion of the archive and contains essential information, such as the total number of entries in the central directory, the size and offset of the central directory, and optional comments. The EOCD enables extraction tools to quickly locate and access files within the ZIP archive, even if the archive is large or contains multiple entries. In cybersecurity, understanding the EOCD is important because attackers may attempt to manipulate this structure for malicious purposes, such as hiding data or creating ZIP bombs. Proper validation of EOCD integrity is essential for secure file handling.