Safety module for protected drive control of a drive system in an automation system, wherein the drive system has at least one drive unit, an encoder unit and a motor unit, wherein the safety module can be integrated between the drive unit and the encoder unit and can be connected thereto via at least one data connection, wherein the safety module has a protocol master, a protocol slave and a safety logic unit which are configured to communicate with one another by means of data communication, wherein the protocol master is in the form of a master unit, and the protocol slave is in the form of a slave unit, of an encoder protocol of an encoder interface, and wherein the safety module is configured: to use the protocol master to receive encoder data transmitted on the basis of the encoder protocol from an encoder protocol slave of the encoder unit that is in the form of a slave unit of the encoder protocol to a drive protocol master of the drive unit that is in the form of a master unit of the encoder protocol; to forward the received encoder data from the protocol master to the safety logic unit and to the protocol slave; to use the safety logic unit to check the forwarded encoder data for correspondence with predetermined safety criteria with regard to the operation of the motor unit; to use the protocol slave to transmit the forwarded encoder data in corresponding data packets to the drive protocol master of the drive unit on the basis of the encoder protocol; and to cause the operation of the motor unit to be stopped by the safety logic unit if the safety logic unit recognizes that the encoder data do not correspond to the predetermined safety criteria, wherein the data communication between the encoder protocol slave of the encoder unit and the protocol master of the safety module and between the protocol slave of the safety module and the drive protocol master of the drive unit is similar to data communication between the encoder protocol slave of the encoder unit and the drive protocol master of the drive unit. to use the protocol master to receive encoder data transmitted on the basis of the encoder protocol from an encoder protocol slave of the encoder unit that is in the form of a slave unit of the encoder protocol to a drive protocol master of the drive unit that is in the form of a master unit of the encoder protocol; to forward the received encoder data from the protocol master to the safety logic unit and to the protocol slave; to use the safety logic unit to check the forwarded encoder data for correspondence with predetermined safety criteria with regard to the operation of the motor unit; to use the protocol slave to transmit the forwarded encoder data in corresponding data packets to the drive protocol master of the drive unit on the basis of the encoder protocol; and to cause the operation of the motor unit to be stopped by the safety logic unit if the safety logic unit recognizes that the encoder data do not correspond to the predetermined safety criteria, wherein the data communication between the encoder protocol slave of the encoder unit and the protocol master of the safety module and between the protocol slave of the safety module and the drive protocol master of the drive unit is similar to data communication between the encoder protocol slave of the encoder unit and the drive protocol master of the drive unit.